Victory Gets Jazz Back in Series

To the Sacramento Kings, it was merely a golden opportunity.

For the veterans of the Utah Jazz, it might have been the last chance at the championship that has eluded them for so long.

Is it any wonder that the Jazz pulled out a 90-89 victory that staved off elimination and evened this best-of-five Western Conference series at 2-2?

They’re in the driver’s seat now, with the decisive Game 5 on Sunday in Salt Lake City. Before Game 4, King players were well aware that if they didn’t win at home Friday they had little chance at victory on Sunday.

With Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls removed from their path, this was supposed to be the year the Jazz put it together and won a championship. But they found themselves trailing, 2-1, to the upstart Kings and faced a five-point deficit in the final two minutes of Friday’s game.

They decided to go down swinging, running the pick-and-roll play that has been their trademark again and again. It was John Stockton who made the game-winning shot with 0.7 seconds remaining.

Karl Malone led Utah with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Stockton had 12 points and eight assists.

Stockton and Malone might be pick-and-roll partners, but it’s Stockton who is associated with the biggest plays in Utah’s history, including the 1997 shot that defeated Houston and sent the Jazz to the finals for the first time.

The exciting and unpredictable Kings weren’t supposed to be this competitive. But they stood face-to-face with the two-time defending Western Conference champions and didn’t lose until Jason Williams’ double-clutch three-point try missed at the buzzer.

As is their custom, the Kings showed an alarming disrespect for the value of each possession.

On one fastbreak, Williams came down the middle. You could see him running through various no-look or behind-the-back pass options in his head, but Williams also forgot to dribble the ball.

The Kings can turn even the simplest passes into adventures; Webber nearly threw an uncontested outlet pass into the Kings bench before Williams saved it.

They’re also capable of putting on the most beautiful passing displays in the NBA. They’re so adept at taking a nice pass and making another nice pass off it that it probably costs Williams an extra three assists a game; if they gave two players assists in basketball, Williams might lead the league in that category.

The bench bailed out the Jazz after another subpar stretch of play by Stockton and Malone.

The Jazz reserves outhustled the Kings, picking up loose balls and long rebounds in a stretch of more than four minutes when the Kings went scoreless.

Howard Eisley contributed six points and four assists in 17 first-half minutes--some of them spent running the point while Stockton was playing shooting guard

True to their nature, the Kings succeeded in spite of themselves during the first half.

Even though they only scored 18 points and went without a field goal for more than six minutes in the second quarter, and although they shot 39% for the half, they took a 44-43 lead into the locker room. An 11-for-12 effort from the free-throw line helped the cause.

The Kings extended their lead to nine in the third quarter, but with Malone scoring six points, the Jazz cut the lead to entering the fourth.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Jazz went on an 8-2 run that and took a 76-75 lead.

The Kings responded with three-point baskets by Jon Barry and Vernon Maxwell and a 81-76 lead.

But after Chris Webber made a free throw, Utah’s Shandon Anderson made two three-point baskets and a layup to key an 8-2 run and 86-84 Utah lead. Vlade Divac countered with a three-point play and the Kings had a one-point lead with 23.3 seconds remaining.

That was plenty of time for another pick-and-roll. Stockton fed Malone in the lane and he scored to put the Jazz ahead, 88-87, with 13.1 seconds left.

The Kings went back to Divac. He was fouled by Greg Ostertag and made two free throws to give Sacramento the lead, 89-88, with 7.7 seconds remaining.

That was enough time for one more pick-and-roll. Divac left Stockton alone off the screen, and the veteran guard made the decisive shot.