After giving them two tough games in a week's time, the Jazz are confident they can spar with the San Antonio Spurs.

"We're right there with that team," Jazz backup point guard John Crotty said.

Beating them, however, is another issue altogether.

San Antonio held on to defeat Utah 98-92 Wednesday night at the Delta Center, marking the 28-12 Spurs' eighth straight regular-season win — and third in three games this season — over the Jazz.

The loss left the 22-20 Jazz — who were opening the second half of their 82-game season — smack dab among a gaggle of five .500-ish Western Conference teams vying for what is likely to be only three postseason positions.

Utah, Seattle, Phoenix, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers all have either 21 or 22 wins.

"We're fighting right now," team-high 23-point scorer Karl Malone said, "just to make the playoffs."

Fighting, though not exactly winning.

The Jazz have now lost three times in their last four games.

They also have lost eight of nine games against the top-five teams in the West — not exactly a good omen for a team that must finish a back-to-back set tonight at Pacific Division-leading Sacramento, then return home for a Saturday rematch with the recently hot Kings, winners of 12 straight before losing in overtime to Portland on Tuesday night.

It's not for lack of trying, however. In fact, some degree of Utah's woes might be chalked up to trying too much.

"It's like I tried to tell them," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said with thoughts of the Spurs loss in his rearview mirror, and a clear look at two games against the 31-10 Kings through his front windshield. "I said, 'You know, you've got be intense. But it's kind of like boxing, you know? You've got to be intense to box, but if you get too intense, you're gonna get your head busted.' "

Lately, the Jazz's melons have gotten banged around pretty good.

This time the Spurs did most of their damage from long-distance, getting 10 3-pointers in all, including 5-of-5 from game-high 29-point scorer Steve Smith.

But at least Utah can say it is going toe-to-toe with some of the NBA's top heavyweights. Because, just like last Thursday's 102-98 victory at the Alamodome, this Spurs win over the Jazz was no walkover.

After leading by as many as nine late in the opening quarter, then trailing by six at the break, Utah found itself 16 down early in the fourth quarter. But the Jazz rallied to twice pull within two with the ball in the game's final three minutes and 20 seconds.

Both times, though, they failed to convert, allowing the Spurs to snap the two-game losing streak incurred between their two latest meetings with Utah.

"We did a nice job of getting back in the game," said Jazz starting point guard John Stockton, who helped with a 10-point, 11-assist double-double, "and then just didn't do anything right, offensively or defensively, in the last minute."

With San Antonio up 88-86, the most Utah could muster was Malone's 22-foot, clear-over-the-basket airball. Later, with the Spurs leading 92-90, a scrambled Jazz possession ended with Stockton missing a layup.

Terry Porter's jumper gave San Antonio a four-point cushion, which John Amaechi did answer with a sorta-dunk for the last of the seldom-used Jazz big man's season-high, slump-busting 18 points.

But it was virtually all Spurs after that, with San Antonio making all six of its free throws in the final 28.2 seconds, and the Jazz missing one 3-pointer after another as time wound down.

The first two of those freebies came from Smith, who was fouled by Bryon Russell after he faked Russell off the floor.

The failed block on the perimeter was one of several such plays that infuriated Sloan, who can't understand how or why Jazz defenders get suckered into the air so often.

"We might as well be on a string," Sloan said.

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Actually, the Jazz are.

A string of tough losses against Western Conference opponents clearly better than them.

NOTES: Basketball operations vice president Kevin O'Connor said Wednesday he will speak next week with retired Jazz shooting guard Jeff Hornacek regarding the possibility of Hornacek becoming a shooting consultant to Jazz players. But there are no plans, O'Connor said, to make Hornacek a full-time member of the Jazz coaching staff . . . By placing Donyell Marshall on the injured list Wednesday, the Jazz opted to go without their usual starting small forward for at least five games. Marshall played only briefly Monday at Golden State before aggravating a bruised right hip that caused him to miss five previous games. He is eligible to return no sooner than a Feb. 2 game at Portland . . . Guard Quincy Lewis, who took Marshall's roster spot after being activated from the injured list Wednesday, played only one minute against the Spurs . . . San Antonio was short-handed, too, playing its second-straight game against the Jazz without two usual starters, injured rookie point guard Tony Parker and injured small forward Bruce Bowen . . . Russell started the night shooting just for 2-for-21 over his last three games, and is now only 3-for-29 . . . Curiously, not one of the Spurs — who collectively shot 52.6-percent from the field — pulled down an offensive rebound.


E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com

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