SAN ANTONIO — Devin Brown stood beaming at mid-court in the AT&T Center, the box holding his shiny NBA championship ring held high over his head.
With coach Gregg Popovich and ex-teammates Bruce Bowen and Tony Parker standing nearby, two-time NBA MVP Tim Duncan of San Antonio formally presented the Jazz guard with the jewelry he won as a member of the Spurs' title team season ago.
The ring represents a goal accomplished, one which for the Jazz — as they were so cruelly reminded in a 115-82 loss to San Antonio that unfolded afterward — remains oh-so-far from their reach.
"I was happy for him," coach Jerry Sloan said of Brown, who wanted to wait until Monday — the first visit of the season for Brown's new team to the city where he attended both high school and college — so he could receive his prize in front of friends and family.
"That's what everybody plays for," Sloan added. "I think. I'm not sure everybody does. But that's what it should be."
Sloan's 40-41 Jazz — eliminated from playoff contention just one night earlier in Dallas — played Monday as if they were interested in winning hardly anything except a head start on vacation.
San Antonio, which formalized its grip on the best record and No. 1 seed in the NBA's Western Conference that everyone assumed Sunday would be the Spurs' — won by its largest margin of the season. Popovich's 62-19 club did it by blitzing the Jazz from the get-go, hitting nine 3-pointers in the first half alone en route to converting a season-high 13 treys.
The Spurs — who got 18 points from Manu Ginobili, 16 from Duncan and double-figures scoring from five more off the bench — led by 17 at halftime and by as many as 36 in the fourth quarter.
They penetrated at will, popped 3s like pills and left the super-soft Jazz looking not the least bit concerned about having had the chance to at least finish the season with a winning record.
"Maybe subconsciously they're thinking, 'I don't want to get hurt,' " Sloan said. "I guess that's the effects of not making the playoffs."
As a result, the best the Jazz can do now is to win their season finale against Golden State on Wednesday at the Delta Center, finish .500 and avoid a second straight losing record.
"We'll have to see how they decide to play," Sloan said. "Maybe they've already got their bags packed."
The Spurs, meanwhile, are prepping for what could be yet another lengthy trip through the postseason.
And after seeing on consecutive nights the West's two best — Dallas and San Antonio both hit the 60-win mark this season — many with the Jazz feel Duncan and friends won't be packing for a while.
"They know how to make plays," said Sloan, whose Jazz have lost 22 of their last 24 meetings — and five of their last six season series — with the Spurs. "They're as good as any team I've seen all year long."
"It doesn't seem like anybody is worried about stats out there. They just play the game the right way," Jazz forward Matt Harpring added. "They pass the ball when a guy's open. They cut, they move, they set screens. They just do everything they're supposed to do — and that's pure basketball. It's not sexy. It's not a style that fans, 'Ooh, Ahh.' But it gets the job done."
The Jazz?
They have plenty of work to do in the years to come, as two Texas evenings of too much have proven.
"If those two meet in the second round, it's gonna be a heckuva series — because they both get after it," Brown said of the Mavericks and Spurs. "We learned that. They're at the level we're trying to get to, and it's quite a wonderful level."
Almost as terrific as the one San Antonio hit last season, when Brown — playing off the bench — helped the Spurs to a title and himself to a ring. And now that he finally has it, Brown can only hope new teammates notice the shine.
"That's what it's about," he said. "Guys make enough money in this league, so that shouldn't be an issue. It's about ... a team coming together, playing good basketball at the right time and winning."
NOTES: Brown started Monday at shooting guard in place of Andrei Kirilenko, who sat out due to back spasms, also sustained in Dallas. ... Utah also played Monday without guard Milt Palacio (inflammation, left knee) ... Jazz play-by-play announcer Hot Rod Hundley left San Antonio shortly before Monday's game to be with a gravely ill family member in Phoenix. Steve Brown filled in.
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com