So maybe they're getting a little long in the tooth. The Utah Jazz aren't kids, you know — and haven't been since John Stockton wore his shorts waaaaay up high.
Never mind. He's still doing that.
Since Jerry Sloan's hair was dark brown.
Anyway, they haven't been kids in a long time. Now? Well, they pretty much nap in their chairs all day and play bingo at night.
Or not.
Trailing 3-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Sunday, the Jazz rose up one more time. They gulped down their prune juice, kick-started their pacemakers and headed off to the Delta Center to claim an 88-85 win over the Blazers.
"So we live for another day . . . those old Jazz," mused Old Man Malone.
For those who like things wrapped up nice and neat, too bad. The Jazz aren't quite finished. One more time, they summoned the old verve. They had the house rocking, their execution working, their defense hustling and their shots falling. Down the stretch, fans were leaving their seats again — but this time not to go to the parking lot.
They just got up to stand on their seats.
"The feeling around here was that this is an older team, too old, and it's so sad watching them go out like this," sighed center Olden Polynice. "But we're not done yet."
That leaves the Jazz with at least one more game, Tuesday at the Rose Garden in Game 5. They weren't perfect, and in fact they barely escaped on Sunday, but Malone wasn't about to look a gift Harley in the mouth.
"Any way we can get a win," he said. "It doesn't matter (how)."
In the long run, the win on Sunday won't make much difference. The Jazz still have to win three straight. That would mean making basketball history. If the Jazz were younger and deeper, or the Blazers smaller and slower, perhaps. But not this year, against this team. They sealed their fate on Thursday when they fell behind by 21 and ended up losing by 18.
Still, whatever things can be said about the Jazz, a lack of heart isn't one of them. They could have simply rolled over and played dead; tucked their tails between their legs and yelped off. They could have blamed age, bruises, fatigue, scheduling or the fact they would rather have been home with their mommies as an excuse. But noooo. They had to go and get stubborn.
They showed they may not have the speed, size, quickness or shooting ability of their opponent, but they still have enough dignity to avoid being swept. They didn't fold up like, say, Atlanta last year, when it lost by 13 in Game 4 against New York, or like the Lakers did in last year's semifinals against San Antonio, losing by 11.
Worse yet, they could have withered like Orlando did in the 1995 NBA Finals, losing four straight to Houston.
Instead, they refused to pack their swimsuits and golf clubs yet.
Thus, when they got their lead to 11, andthe Blazers kept hanging on, the Jazz didn't relent. Portland pulled within one with 4:34 to go, and trailed by just two with 14 seconds remaining. Armen Gilliam eased to the line, making one of two free throws to put the lead at three and force the Blazers to take a 3-point shot at the buzzer. They finished up by swarming Greg Anthony at the buzzer as his desperation shot fell away.
"They knew they weren't going to sweep us," said forward Bryon Russell. "I didn't think they had a chance to sweep us."
If so, he might have been alone in Salt Lake City — except for maybe a few teammates.
Truth is, the Jazz are a long shot from winning the series, anyway. The next one in Portland may not be any closer than the first three games. Still, in a way that's beside the point. When all was lost, and interest had waned, the Jazz kept coming. There are worse ways to be remembered.