SALT LAKE CITY -- The ending was unnecessarily ugly.
Jerry Sloan and Derek Fisher making the walk of shame after separate ejections, fans throwing things at Spurs players from all directions, boos raining down from departing fans.
It's not the type of scene you would associate with Salt Lake City, known for its picturesque mountains, skiing and friendly atmosphere. Jazz fans who made their brethren look bad by chucking cups and whatever else they could find should be ashamed.
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| Gregg Popovich rushes the Spurs off the court once the postgame projectiles start flying. (AP) |
Don't blame the whistles for a 91-79 defeat that put Utah in a 3-1 hole in the Western Conference finals. That's the lamest angle. San Antonio outshot the Jazz 25-2 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, but that was entirely about aggressiveness, not bad calls.
San Antonio got to the basket and Utah didn't. The Spurs imposed their will and Utah settled for jumpers. The Jazz team that dominated the second half Saturday night was nowhere to be found. That team outscored the Spurs 50-26 in the paint. On Monday night the Spurs turned the tables, winning that battle 40-30.
Utah's players let the city down. No one else.
The bottom line is that after San Antonio wrestled away the lead from the Jazz on a Michael Finley 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Jazz had 10 possessions where they had pulled to within one basket of tying or taking the lead and could never get it done.
"When we had a chance to get momentum on our side, we didn't have enough patience," Jazz guard Gordan Giricek said. "We were taking quick shots and we were missing the shots. It was our fault. We had our chances."
Before turning into barbarians, fans at Energy Solutions Arena was ready to explode in a good way. It felt like if Utah could ever actually pull even or surge ahead, we'd be headed to San Antonio 2-2.
Instead, Salt Lake has probably seen its last basketball game of the season, and it's because the crowd was more hostile and combative than Utah's players.
Down 59-52, the Spurs executed a nice pick-and-roll that gave Tim Duncan a clear path to the basket for what seemed to be an uncontested layup. Out of nowhere, Carlos Boozer came over and swatted his shot nastily, sending him flying in one direction while the ball went in the other. Boozer then got down the court and knocked down a jumper, which was followed by a Deron Williams basket on the next possession.
That's the resistance and fire Utah needed for 48 minutes. Instead, it was only visible in short spurts and was nowhere to be found with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. Williams, shaking off a nasty stomach bug that put his availability in question, struggled with double teams in the second half. It didn't help that, aside from Boozer, his supporting cast produced little.
