| OCR Text |
Show Che Salt Lake Tribune SPORTS @ BUZZ LOSE B-5 TRACK AND FIELD B-6 NHL PLAYOFFS B-7 MGOLFB-8 $OTIOy SBRBAY MM AUTO RACING B-4 2 * MAY23, 1999 At Rose Garden Blazers put game away early with 25-2 scoring run Recent Jazz playoff history showsthat a convincing victory for one team orthe otheroften leads to a muchdifferentresult in the next game — onthe same court. The Jazz have to hope the pattern continues in tonight's HM TRIBUNE BYS THE S Game4 at Portland. PORTLAND — The Jazz have become pretty good at this deer-in-the-headlights routine, which they performed with precision again Saturday at the Spurs 86-64 Chicago || Game| eal] Rose Garden. For the fourth time in the still- young playoffs — and the second straight game in Sacramenio| Sana the Western Con- GAME Jazz 117-87] e |Blazers 97-87 ference semifinals against Portland GLANCE — the Jazz were outplayed, outhustled and Blazers 97 out- Jazz 87 worked, Fast Fact: They were The Blazers outBambiin the path scored the Jazz 25-2 in of the sleek and smooth-running an11-minutestretch of thefirst half. Gi ame ee Blazers. ' They were road ‘onight, Jazz al kill ye Portland, 6:30 p.m. How did it hap- — pen? Again? Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points while Brian Grant contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds,helping Portland take a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series with an easy 97-87 win in Game 3. ” said Trail BlazPortland built a 23-point lead midway through thefirst half, extended it to 25 early in the third quarter and cruised to victory. Though the Jazz got as close as 89-81 in the final minutes, Coach Jerry Sloan was anything but impressed RhondaHailes Maylett The Salt LakeTribune, i More Jazz Notes and Quotes B4 ing usalive. They probably felt sorry for us.” Sloan wasn't as upset with the Jazz's 38.9-percent shooting ortheir 16 turn- oversashe waswith their complete lack of competitiveness, especiallyin thefirst half. “They outplayedusright from the beginning; they kicked our rear ends,” ‘TheBlazers, toward the end, “just quit See JAZZ, Page B-4 playing,” he said. “Theygot tired of eat- Even With a 2-1 Lead in the Series, Trail Blazers Playing It Low Key BYDICK ROSETTA @ Portland BroadcasterRiles Sloan THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE After Saturday's Debacle, Sloan Will Take Roll to See Who Shows Up Today Moments after Jerry Sloan's team had blown an engine, had left parts and de- bris and oil slicks all over the court at the Rose Garden on Saturdayafternoon had played oneofits worst basketball games in memory, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers 97-87 in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Jazz coach strode quickly into an interview area, grim-faced and disgusted, turning straight into the hard, cold truth. “They kicked our rear-ends right from the beginning We didn't come to GORDON MONSON the fact that we didn't even try to guard them. Wejust didn't execute. ‘| don't know why. We'retrying to outscore teams rather than defend them Butthey were so good defensively, we LOS AN S TIMES INGLEWOOD,Calif. — Summertime in Lakerland is maybe a gameaway, one last chanceto seetall, talented men run fast, jumphigh and crash at thefinish line. One game away. One more turnover filled, defense-depleted, screw-up-the- gameplan, San Antonio Spur-dominated stretch run away One more stumbling step from the great yawning off-season On Saturday, when the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-91 Game 3 loss to San Antonio was over, whenthey hadfinishedgiv ing up the final 13 points of the game, the locker room clearedout as quickly as smokeoutofa bottle, as swiftly as a ca pacity crowd at the Great Western Fo: rumsprinting for theexits. The victory put the Spurs ahead in this Western Conference semifinal series, 3 See MONSON, PageB-4 NBA PLAYOFFS ‘It's a shamethat we're down, 0-3, in this series,” the Lakers’ Shaquille 0'N eal saidsoftly in his brief stint beforethe media. San Antonio 103, L.A. Lakers 91 . POOR COPY Atlanta at New York, 4 p.m. San Antonio at LA. Lakers, 3:30 p.m. Utah at Portland, 6:30 p.m. (KJZZ, TNT) knowwhat I mean? There's nothing else PCL Oklahoma 6 “We know th won'tgive (Game4] to us. We'll have take it.” See BLAZERS, Page BS onceshegot in the low post and adjusted two becomevirtually unstoppable The duo of former Volunteers led the urday in a WNBAexhibition McCray scored 18points while Holds- and 13 rebounds before a crowdof 9,028. I wasa little nervous, alittle tentative, said Holdsclaw, who also said that she was joking whenshespokeofpraying that she wouldn't go to Utahin thedraft points and 11 rebounds. “She was good to how the guardssteppedup.” NatalieWilliams, the Starzz's first pidk in thedraft, showed the form that mad@ her the MVP in the now-defunct ABL, Williams played only 21 minutes because of foul trouble, butstill totaled 18 pola andfive rebounds. Palmer finished with 13 points and R rebounds while LaTonya Johnson c off the bench and had13 points, includ: See STARZZ, Page A quicklook atkey final results in the world of sports 6, Toronto 4 Detroit 6, Cleveland 2 Texas 8, Baltimore 7 Salt Lake 5 See LAKERS, Page B-3 bound contribution: is a great player. Team her with Nikki McCray, and the ce at the MCI Center. “You're at the bottom, you Brian Grant was even morepointed af ter his workmanlike, 16-point, 15-rée Holdsclaw is a great player whois go ing to do well at this level,” said the Starzz’s Wendy Palmer, who totaled 13 WASHINGTON — Teams that have claw, the No. 1 draft pick, added14 points Bryant said. thing. The next gameis pivotal. We end up 2-2 after [tonight] and everything we've worked for is out the door.” played the University of Tennesseere: cently already know ChamiqueHoldsclaw playoff series You don't have any choice,” Kobe for respect, not for a championship, in a Portlandreserve guard Greg Anthony, who quickly is becoming a defensive legendin this series, said of the series lead, “Well, honestly, it doesn't mean any- Holdsclaw Leads Mystics Past Starzz schedule Andone moretime, they are playing American League Bos City on Thursday night. But the Blazers were erring onthe side of caution with reserve forward Walt Williams even suggesting a 2-1 series advantage was ‘nothing.’ The Jazz “have been in this position too many times before and bounced back,” Williams said after a rare offen. eee Mystics over the Utah Starzz “A shame.” NHL Playoffs Colorado2, Dallas 1 Portland 97, Utah 87 s Indiana at Philadelphia, 10:30 a.m. Onemoretime, the Lakers implodeon REBBEOSCOREL/,'/ NBA Playoffs Satur 's Games Portland 97, Utah 87 San Antonio 103, LA. Lakers 94 0, a deficit from which no NBA playoff teamhas ever recovered ame4 is scheduledfor today, and the Spurs may gently lay their heads and sweep. three three-point shots. “We have to come out even stronger mentally and be focusedfor another 48 minutes. gamein which he scored 13 points, following a 27-pointexplosionin Salt Lake Fizzling Lakers Face Quick Elimination BY TIM KAWAKAMI In fact, the Blazers talked as if they the Jazz. said Isaiah Rider after a rather subdued couldn't evenget a shot. I'm not taking anything away fromthem, They'reas goodas anyone we've ever played. But 3 sive outburst in which he knocked down they like the spotthey are in. “We're in great shape because we are at home,” don't even show uptoplay. They waxed us in every way. Offensive rebounding, 1 Bulls Win NBADraft Lottery Blazers’ dominating 97-87 victory over a 2-1 Western Conference semifinals leac Saturday at the Rose Garden. Oh, play,” werethefirst words out of his 1 Making the NBA Line In Vegas er room Saturday afternoon after the had accomplished wayless than nabbing mouth. It got harder and colder from there. “I can’t accept that. That’s one of the worst things in basketball, when you turnovers, defense. It looked like we had neverplayed together. I can't live with bound, but the fans werenotin the lock- M4 @ Back-to-Back Doesn't Bother Jazz B4 WilliamsIgnites Big Blazer Run B4 @ Play byPlay of Jazz Scoring Drought B-4 New York 10, Chicago22 (Ist) Chicago 2, New York 1 (2nd) Anaheim8, Tampa Bay 6 Minnesota 2, Oakland 1 (10) Seattle 7, Kagsas City 4 National League Philadelphia 9, New York 3 Arizona 8, Colorado 3 San Francisco 3, Houston 1 Montreal 12, Milwaukee 4 Pittsburgh 11, Florida 4 Atlanta 4, Chicago 2 Cincinnati 3, San Diego 0 Los Angeles 10, St. Louis 7 hand: Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's Karl Malonetries to clear away Portland’s Rasheed Wallace in Saturday's Game 3. The Blazers cruised, 97-87. PORTLAND — The Rose Garden crowd maythink the Portland Trail Blazers are Western Conference Finals- t |
