Bucks 102, Jazz 99
Nobody ever questions Jerry Sloan's decision to use his 37-year-old point guard or his 36-year-old power forward at the end of a close game.
Nobody ever offers excuses of any kind on the Jazz — especially age.
Stockton, after all, has made the winning shots in countless games and runs the Jazz offense with unmatched precision. And Malone, well, the two-time league MVP is the primary reason the Jazz are contenders every year.
So it seemed unusual when the subject was entertained after the Jazz extended their losing streak Thursday night to five games — the longest since 1983. With the score tied, Milwaukee's Glen Robinson drained a 3-point shot just as the buzzer sounded, stunning the screaming crowd and beating the Jazz 102-99.
It was Stockton who'd made the tying basket, leaving just 2.6 seconds on the clock — enough time, it turns out for the Bucks to pull out the win.
But the musings about whether age and fatigue played a factor in the outcome didn't come from the media, the fans or the players.
They came from the coach.
When asked about playing Stockton more minutes in the second half, Sloan explained he did it because Stockton "settles us down, but I'm also very concerned about the number of minutes (he played). . . . There is more than one game involved in this season."
Sloan also wondered aloud if maybe fatigue hadn't played a factor in the10-time All-Star missing a jump shot with eight seconds remaining.
"His shot was about two feet off," Sloan said shrugging. "What do you think? I don't know . . . these are things you're always concerned about, playing older guys a longer period of time."
Stockton, however, is not concerned.
"It's something he just did," he said of Sloan's decision to play him more. "It's fine if he plays me less; it's fine if he plays me more minutes. I'll just try to do my best."
As for missing that jumper with 8.5 seconds to go, he said, "I lost it. It didn't come off my hand the way I wanted it to."
But was he tired?
"No," he said. "I took the next shot. I didn't feel at all like fatigue was a part of it."
What was a part of the loss according to the coach and the players was an inability to defend against the 3-point shot. The Bucks shot 60 percent from beyond the arc making 6 of 15 attempts.
"They just looked right at us and buried them," Sloan said. "A lot of times we weren't ready to play on those . . . I thought we told them about the 3's this morning."
Both he and his players felt the Jazz needed to do a better job of helping each other on defense.
As for the Buck's play selection at the end of the game?
"(Glen Robinson) made a great shot," he said. "Adam (Keefe) played him about as well as anyone had. They deserved to win. We had our opportunities."
The Jazz missed several easy shots in the first quarter, including three lay-ups and a dunk.
"That (shot) didn't determine the outcome of the game," said Bryon Russell. "It was our lack of effort we all put into it."
Sloan said his team wasn't "attacking the basket" which led to missed shots.
"We were taking soft shots, falling away from the basket" he said. "And that's why we didn't get to the foul line much in the first half."
Milwaukee was called for just three fouls in the first quarter and four in the second. The Jazz also had 16 turnovers in the game. Whatever opportunities were squandered, the Jazz battled back and tied the game with just 2.6 seconds left.
The Bucks called a time out and then brought the ball in at half court; the Jazz braced themselves to play tough defense. They knew they had to stop the drive, they had to disrupt the short jumper and try not to foul.
The one thing they didn't expect was a 3-point shot from three feet behind the arc.
"If they drew it up that was probably their worst case scenario," said forward Adam Keefe who was responsible for guarding Glen Robinson. A drive, a short jump shot, "that's what we were really trying to prevent. You can't stop everything."
Now the Jazz must try to stop their slide, the longest in 17 years, when they face the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs on the road.
Beating either team at home would be a challenge, but now they must defeat each team in unfriendly arenas. And they must defeat the self-doubt and depression that comes with losing five in a row at a critical juncture in the season.
"We've been spoiled because we haven't had to deal with this for a while," Sloan said. To pull out of a downward spiral a team must find mental toughness when it feels most vulnerable.
"You have to work harder, stay together at a team," he said. "The ones that have a little bit of toughness can fight out of it."
The Jazz must get back to being the Jazz.
"When things start to go against you, it's the little things that go," Keefe said. "This team depends on the little things."
And Russell promises the good ol' days of winning are on the horizon.
"It gets no easier," he said. "But we'll be alright. We'll roll off 15 or 16 in a row and everybody will be jumping for joy again."