No More of Same Old Jazz

You know where nice guys finish. And the Clippers weren’t ready to be finished.

So, twice before halftime of Tuesday night’s playoff game at the Sports Arena, the Clippers let something be known.

They were not about to let Utah get away with any of that in-your-face jazz--not tonight, not this time, not in front of their own fans.

There were two ways they could go.

They could go around the Jazz, dodging danger, hoping to keep a hop ahead of them.

Or they could meet the Jazz head on, if that’s what it took.

Right away, they tried both.

First came an innocent enough moment, when John Stockton hustled to intercept Ron Harper near midcourt.

Harper had instinctively broken toward the Clipper basket after a missed Utah shot. A perfect outlet pass was aimed toward him, but Stockton alertly darted several steps toward the sideline, directly in Harper’s path, positioning himself so that he would be right there in the Clipper’s kisser at the exact instant the ball arrived.

Rather than catch the ball, however, Harper demonstrated some form of uncanny human reflex that doctors should research and submit to medical journals. He batted the basketball over Stockton’s shoulder, in the general direction of the hoop, then in one fluid motion sidestepped the nonplussed Utah player and chased the ball down, jamming it.

That was one way.

The clever way.

The finesse way.

The other way of getting the Jazz out of their faces was less gracious and graceful and a little more meet-you-in-the-alley-afterward on the Clippers’ part, but every bit as effective.

Hey, whatever works.

This one, too, came in the opening quarter, with the score close and the players closer. Bodies were banging and bonging all over the arena, and, brawny as the Clippers might be, it is not necessarily in their best interests to attempt to outmuscle the Jazz. There are professional wrestling federations with weaker physiques than Utah’s.

Yet, all the same, the Clippers had had enough of being pushed around. During Games 1 and 2 at Salt Lake City--alias Home Malone--the Clippers got themselves both assaulted and peppered. Karl Malone threw his Mr. Olympia beefcake around, and Mark Eaton occupied the lane with that daunting combination of his of the body of Herman Munster and the leaping ability of Woody Harrelson.

So, the moment Utah’s 6-10, 260-pound Mike Brown acted ready to rumble, L.A.’s 7-1, 252-pound James Edwards more or less said: “OK, bud. Let’s rumble.”

It resulted in a tangle of arms and legs that spilled over across the boundary line and into a crowded corner. Not that much of a war broke out. The only actual casualty was a photographer from Riverside. But Edwards, whose nickname is “Buddha,” spent a couple of stone-faced minutes attempting to peel Malone’s mighty forearms from around his, advising him that Buddha crosses his own arms, thank you very much.

When Harper intervened to express his appreciation and support with a raised palm ready to slap, the stiff-backed Edwards stood his ground so firmly that he even refused to acknowledge his own teammate .

Now, that’s a man who means business.

The Clippers had made up their minds that they were no longer going to stand around and take it. Yes, Utah was large and skillful. Yes, Utah was up by two games. Yes, sweeping the next three games would not be easy. But no sense going down without a fight.

Malone was so difficult to move during the first two games that when someone asked the Clippers’ Doc Rivers what they needed to handle him, his first suggestion was an Uzi.

Later on, Rivers solicited another suggestion, but got an only slightly different reply.

“My father suggested a tank,” Rivers said. “But I said, ‘Uh, dad. I believe that’s illegal.’ ”

A much more logical alternative seemed to be conceding points, rebounds, blocks and bruises to Malone and attempting to mute the remainder of the Jazz, although some credit is due Olden Polynice for the way he boxed out Malone in Game 3, helping to limit him to one offensive rebound.

The Clippers gave it as good as they had gotten in Salt Lake.

Better, maybe.

Utah’s Jeff Malone said: “They just tried to bang us a lot more.” To which Stockton added: “If they’re going to play physically, we’ve got to be able to respond by pushing back and holding our ground.”

“The first half was some of the best defense we’ve played all year,” Coach Larry Brown said after the 98-88 victory.

It sure was. With a minute and a half remaining before halftime, the Jazz had thrown down a measly 32 points.

“We found it’s OK to play physical and tough,” Brown said. “We didn’t back down or let up. I don’t know if we’ll win this series, but it’s nice to see this type of play.”

What kind of play is so nice?

Not-so-nice play.