Utah fans: Save the anger for your own team

"We had three or four possessions where we just threw the ball away. They put pressure on us and we couldn't handle that situation very well," Sloan said. "I think they've got to learn every time they step on the floor is, obviously, you need to learn to stick with what you are trying to do and not have the turnovers and not have the fouls that put them on the free-throw line, regardless of circumstances."

That's accountability, and if Utah would've taken a little more ownership during the game instead of afterward, the result wouldn't have seemed like it was put in the hands of the officials.

That's what Manu Ginobili did. After an awful first three quarters where he was just 2-for-7, Ginobili took it upon himself to deliver the result.

"I wasn't being so aggressive or I didn't go to the rim as hard," said Ginobili, who finished with a team-high 22 points. "Then I just hit a 3 early in the fourth quarter and I just started feeling better and that's where I felt it."

That 3-pointer Ginobili was referencing pushed a 67-66 lead to four, and it closed the book on Utah's chances. It's not like the Jazz didn't have enough chances. If you get 10 opportunities to change the climate of a game, and for that matter a series, and you fail, you have no one to throw cups at but yourselves.

Once again, Andrei Kirilenko had a slow night. Mehmet Okur scored just seven points, which is now his series average. This is an All-Star we're talking about who just happens to be shooting 26 percent (10-for-38) in these four games. Fisher had more fouls than he did shots, and his frustration got the best of him late, even if the technical fouls were objectionable.

The Jazz have proven that it's no fluke that they've gotten this far. They've played with the Spurs. They've slowed Duncan. But when the opportunity came to break through, they missed out time and time again.

The blame game can be played with the mirror.