After getting manhandled by an average of 19 points in the first three games of the Western Conference semifinals by the Portland Trail Blazers, the Jazz responded Sunday afternoon by holding off the high-powered Blazers down the stretch to pull out an 88-85 victory in Game 4. Not that anybody would even think for a moment the Jazz could win Game 5 Tuesday night in Portland, but that's not the point right now.

You figure Karl Malone's 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to be the yang to the yin of John Stockton, who had 18 points and nine assists. Malone will soon be 37, and has established himself as arguably the best power forward of all time. And Stockton, already 38, will continue to add to his all-time NBA records of 13,790 assists and 2,844 steals.

This aged team -- also featuring retiring 37-year-old Jeff Hornacek, who plays on virtually one leg, and Olden Polynice, nearly 36 years old, at center -- has been around too long just to mail it in, so to speak.

Instead, Malone and Co. delivered against a Blazers team that has cranked its act in the playoffs all the way back up to where it was at 45-11 entering its game with the Lakers on Feb. 29. And it wasn't easy for the Jazz Sunday, despite leading the entire game with the exception of a 5-4 Portland lead just more than 3 minutes into the game.

"A lot of guys talked about pride and winning this game," Hornacek said. "A lot of those same guys fought hard to get another game. That says a lot about them."

The Jazz seemingly had control of the game all the way through the third quarter. They just couldn't put away the Blazers because Brian Grant wouldn't go away. Apparently recovered from a foot injury this season and knee surgery last summer, Grant had 20 points and 13 rebounds (16 and 12 in the second half) to virtually control the game inside during the fourth quarter.

Jazz forward Bryon Russell dunks over Portland's Greg Anthony and Brian Grant (right).(AP)

Grant and Rasheed Wallace made Malone work overtime, although he did have the unlikely aid of Polynice, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Even with Scottie Pippen a non-factor and sitting out all of the fourth quarter until the final two minutes, the Blazers closed to within three. Steve Smith, already having scored 18 points, was on the line shooting two with 14.3 seconds left. A career 83 percent free throw shooter, he missed the first and sank the second. Armen Gilliam added a free throw for the Jazz, and a 3-point attempt at the buzzer from Blazer backup point guard Greg Anthony caromed high off the rim.

It capped off a couple of hours that actually allowed the partisan but frustrated Delta Center fans to go bananas for a while. Rightfully so. This is a franchise that is buried beneath the Wasatch Mountains, but has become recognized for being in the playoffs every year since 1984, which the Blazers have exceeded by one season. Only two other teams have been there more often.

We're not asking for a moment of silence here to commemorate the Jazz. There is another game (or more?) to be played. The Blazers are favored by a trillion ... just don't rule out the Jazz.

"That's all we can do ... go out play as hard as we can," Hornacek said. "And (hopefully) extend it one more game."

Money isn't everything

One day later, more than just the fans and players surrounding the Michigan State basketball program are relieved Tom Izzo just said no to the five-year, $15 million contract offer from the Atlanta Hawks.

This was a positive move for college basketball when it needed it in the worst way.

It wasn't about money for him as the Hawks went from $1.8 million a year up to $3 million guaranteed -- compared to the $1.1 million per year plus bonuses he receives from Michigan State -- in a five-year offer that would have automatically rolled over every five seasons.

Just when it was becoming apparent he would leave the Spartans for the NBA, he did an about-face. It came at the behest of present players, former players and potential players as Izzo spent weeks discussing the situation with nearly everyone imaginable.

"It seemed like a long process to some, but to me it was just something I had to look into," Izzo said. "I'm not about money. But I was really impressed with their organization. Their organization was incredible. But this organization is incredible, too."

From the start, obviously, it was his prerogative to do as much for himself and his family as he deemed necessary. Coming off three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, including a Final Four loss in 1999 and the NCAA championship this season, Izzo had established himself and the Spartans as the new power in college basketball. In his five years as head coach, following 12 as an assistant, he had compiled a 120-48 record with the Spartans that is highlighted by this year's championship game victory over Florida.

They oozed a family feeling. Granted, the Mateen Cleaves and the rest of the Flint natives enhanced that situation, but it was Izzo who fostered the camaraderie. With seniors like Cleaves and Mo Peterson, the Spartans just had a different feel than most college programs.

He'll never recapture that in the NBA, as John Calipari, P.J. Carlesimo and Rick Pitino have discovered.

Calipari already is back in college coaching at Memphis, just three years removed from a huge deal with the New Jersey Nets that set him up to be fired 20 games into last season. Carlesimo, after being fired at both Portland and Golden State, is likely to return to the college game soon enough -- although he is still getting paid by both organizations and has a new restaurant in the Bay Area. And Pitino, in all likelihood, will head back after next season -- with Kentucky fans already pining for his return.

There is a big reason why Mike Krzyzewski has never left Duke, nor did Dean Smith move from North Carolina or Bob Knight out of Indiana. They all have received the call. Roy Williams, among others, has been seduced but hasn't left Kansas. College basketball is a domain for the coach, despite the increasing exodus to the NBA by players who aren't ready.

Fortunately, we can now include Tom Izzo in that list of great coaches electing to stay.

Shots from the perimeter

• With the cheap shot that Pacers guard Reggie Miller took from Sixers center Matt Geiger in Game 4 now behind us, sad to say Miller will be out of Game 5, while Geiger is likely finished for the season since he's out two games and the series won't last that long. Indeed, the suspension of Miller was automatic since he took a swing at Geiger ... but those were extenuating circumstances. Even Sixers coach Larry Brown conceded Geiger tried "to take him out." Isn't there a loophole anywhere?
• Rumblings continue that Grant Hill will leave the Pistons this coming season, either as a free agent or a sign-and-trade. Don't expect him to just bolt, but the considering the ongoing problems Brown is suffering with his All-Star guard Allen Iverson, perhaps the commentary told to SportsLine.com last week about a Hill and Iverson deal may have some credence after all. On the other hand, where would that leave Pistons shooting guard Jerry Stackhouse, run out of Philadelphia by Iverson?
• Don't be surprised if John Paxson pulls himself out of the running as Wizards coach. He has serious concerns about the pressure and time away from his wife and children. On the heels of Danny Ainge resigning from the Suns for just those reasons, it will be interesting to see how many prospective coaches do the same thing as Paxson.
• Suns forward Rodney Rogers, the NBA's Best sixth man, had missed all 12 of his 3-point attempts prior to Game 4, when he finally sank one with three minutes left in the first quarter.