Utah Appears on Road to Ruin After 81-75 Loss

There’s a reason why Portland guard Isaiah Rider can look at the Utah Jazz and say: “We feel as though they can’t beat us three games in a row, period,” and not be out of line.

If Utah couldn’t win Game 4 of this Western Conference semifinal series, on an evening when the Trail Blazers offered opportunities for victory like a flight attendant passing out peanuts, then the Jazz will find it next to impossible to escape the three-games-to-one hole created by Portland’s 81-75 victory Sunday at the Rose Garden.

The Trail Blazers shot 34.4%. A team known for getting points from a multitude of sources produced only three scorers in double-figures. The starting front line of Arvydas Sabonis, Brian Grant and Rasheed Wallace, which accounted for 51 points in Game 3 Saturday, scored only 23 points (14 by Sabonis) in Game 4.

Thanks to Rider, who scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, it all proved to be enough.

That’s because the Jazz didn’t want to win desperately enough. Not enough diligence and execution on offense during a tight fourth quarter.

Karl Malone didn’t demand the ball in the post or drive to the basket with a vengeance, opting to shoot jump shots.

Todd Fuller took two shots in the fourth quarter, which is two more than he needs to be taking.

Only John Stockton played with a sense of urgency, and it’s becoming increasingly evident that he is losing his ability to get the job done.

He had as many turnovers (two) as field goals in the fourth quarter. He missed a layup that could have tied the score with 1:58 remaining, similar to the layup he missed that could have sent Game 2 into overtime in Utah’s loss at Salt Lake City.

Stockton did receive a gift three-point play, when he got by Portland guard Jim Jackson for a layup and Jackson was whistled for a foul despite a minimal contact. The resulting free throw pulled the Jazz within one with 16.5 seconds remaining.

After Rider made two free throws, Utah had a chance to tie, down three with 14.7 seconds remaining, but Bryon Russell’s bad inbounds pass for Stockton was stolen by Stacey Augmon.

It was Utah’s sixth turnover of the fourth quarter, another indication of how uncharacteristic this series has become for a team that is known for its precise execution.

Portland out-Jazzed the Jazz, which is why Coach Mike Dunleavy called it, “Just a tremendous win because of the way we did it.

“Everybody knows we can win games when we’re going on all cylinders,” Dunleavy said. “We didn’t have that component tonight. We had to search, we had to grind.”

The teams scored two points apiece for the first four minutes of the game.

“If there’s any reason to be upset, it’s the way we started the ballgame,” Utah Coach Jerry Sloan said.

Although Portland’s defense wasn’t as oppressive as it had been the previous three games, Utah made only one of its first 10 field goal attempts and made only five of 17 (29.4%) for the quarter.

That enabled the Trail Blazers to take a nine-point lead despite 36.8% shooting themselves.

The Trail Blazers went up by 11 in the second quarter before Utah rallied. Sloan credited reserve Thurl Bailey with setting screens the way the Jazz should set them, an apparent slight at Malone. (Malone certainly didn’t charge to the basket after he set screens).

Bailey also tangled with Wallace with 7:13 left in the second quarter. Sloan claimed Wallace threw a punch--”a roundhouse thing,” Sloan called it--at Bailey.

“All I was doing was just trying to free my arms,” Wallace said.

If the league office rules he did indeed throw a punch, Wallace could be suspended for Game 5 Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

Wallace thought he was being targeted because of his hothead reputation.

“That’s their master plan,” Wallace said. “Once again, it got foiled. They put Thurl in there to get me heated, because I’m the emotional one.”

Wallace and Bailey were assessed double fouls and double technical fouls. At that point, Wallace came out for the rest of the half. Utah crept to within three points before halftime.

With Adam Keefe replacing the ineffective Greg Ostertag at center at the start of the third quarter, the Jazz outscored Portland, 23-18.

But Grant scored five of his seven points in the fourth quarter and the Trail Blazers made 10 free throws to Utah’s two. It was part of a 33-16 Portland advantage from the line, which is where the Jazz usually makes opponents pay.