Show fait Section D Sports $al ®fibtme Monday Morning— May 4 1837 Page 1 For Recorded Score Call Local Warriors Send Jazz Packing Sports Information Call 237-202- first-roun- 118-11- best-of-fi- ot nt night” Added Thurl Bailey who scored 19 points “They didn’t shoot the lights out but they dimmed a little” In the end Golden State hit 50 percent from the field But the Warriors made only 5 of 17 shots in the fourth quarter Translation: They were shooting 552 percent through three quarters Result: The Warriors led 1 at halftime and after making nine of the first 13 shots in the third period their lead ballooned to 5 ‘The hole got too deep” said Bailey who had 13 points in the final 14 minutes “And it’s very tough when you have to stop them and then have to score yourself" Said Darrell Griffith who had 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter “We got too far behind It’s as simple as that I knew we’d come back I told the guys on the bench that lead wouldn’t last Not if we had their any pride We just couldn’t get over the 67-5- 87-6- Sports Capoulezz 118-11- 3 NBA Playoffs Golden State 118 Utah 113 Milwaukee 102 Philadelphia 89 Detroit 112 Atlanta ill hump” The Jazz started their comeback late in the third quarter They outscored the Warriors 12-- 3 in the final four minutes of the period to make it 7 And the Jazz could have been closer run Malone During Utah’s third-quartand Carey Scurry were called for traveling Scurry made only two of four free throws and Bob Hansen had a basket wiped out on a charging call Still the Jazz were close enough to make things exciting for the crowd of 11071 their of the playoffs third straight With 7:20 left Griffith drove for a basket that made it 3 With 6:54 a tip by Bailey made it 100-9- 5 Finally with 2:38 to play Mark Eaton blocked a shot by the Warriors’ Larry Smith — remember the name — and started a fast break that ended with a dunk by Malone 90-7- er non-sello- ut 98-9- 111-10- Tribune Sports Writer It was a nightmare finish for the Jazz But it was a nightmare season for Kelly Tripucka All-Stwho averTripucka is a two-tim-e aged 216 points a game in his first five NBA seasons Once in 1983 he scored 56 points in a game Along with Kent Benson he came to the Jazz last August from Detroit in the deal that sent Adrian Dantley to the Pistons Sunday after the Jazz were eliminated from the playoffs by the Warriors Tripucka talked briefly about what will probably be his only season in Utah “First of all it’s tough to lose” he said “Nobody is happy losing And it’s doubly tough the way we lost — being up 0 and losing three in a row That’s hard to take” Tripucka smiled weakly “After that” he said “there really isn’t much else to say” Statistically Tripucka was right He played only seven minutes in Game 5 man against the Warriors while second-yea- r ar 2-- Detroit 3 Toronto 0 16-1- American League Toronto Texas 1 Chicago 4 Baltimore 3 Minnesota 4 New York 3 Kansas City 2 Cleveland 1 California 11 Boston 4 Oakland 2 Detroit 0 Seattle 7 Milwaukee 3 113-10- Montreal 2 New York 0 Cincinnati 9 Philadelphia Atlanta 5 Houston 3 TV Sports wow 2 pm — Major League Baseball Los Angeles at Chicago pm — NHL Playoffs at Montreal (fcSPtil 5:30 ct D-- 2 Column Phila-delph- ia wtssI 535 pm — Major League Baseball Montreal at Atlanta I Death a Mystery Jeep's — The coroner EL PASO Texas Ballard Bailey scored 19 points in the season-endin- g loss to Warriors (UPI) Sunday said it would take several days to determine what caused Hernell “Jeep” Jackson a popular University of Texas-E- l Paso basketball player to collapse and die suddenly during an exhibition game Jackson 23 of Carson Calif collapsed Saturday afternoon during a charity game against a team of local soldiers and members of the Houston Oilers football team at the Fort Bliss Military Reservation “At some point in the game he goes to the bench sits down and is visiting with someone and he collapses and they were never able to revive him” said UTEP sports information director Eddie Mullens Jackson was pronounced dead at William Beaumont Hospital at Fort Bliss said El Paso Police Sgt Don Georgens An autopsy Sunday was inconclusive said Dr Juan Contin of the El Paso County medical examiner’s office Contin said it likely would be several days before toxicology and other tests are completed Mullens said it appeared Jackson died of cardiac arrest ‘They are predicting cardiac arrest That’s what they are predicting and I ’ hope that’s what it is” Mullens said re- ferrlng to inquiries about possible drug use by the athlete Warriors Rejoice After Making History Carey Scurry played 22 Tripucka’s numbers included one rebound one assists one foul and two turnovers He didn’t score He didn’t shoot He didn’t complain “It wasn’t a fun season for me” admitted Tripuckarwho averaged 101 points and 236 minutes in 79 regular-seaso- n games “In fact it was a nightmare for me I enjoyed the guys I enjoyed the coaching staff We had a lot of fun I developed a lot of friendships This is a good bunch of guys to be around it was just the oppo“But basketball-wis- e site It was tough I didn’t feel a like a part of it and I’m not that kind of player And I won’t go through it again” There was no bitterness in Tripucka’s voice He was matter-of-fa“I’m going to have to think about that” Tripucka said when asked about his future “We have a meeting tomorrow and I guess that’s when I have to air my thoughts Somehow I’ve got to correct the situation and hopefully it’ll be taken care of over the See 1 I nt summer” 6 Chicago 4 San Diego 2 Los Angeles at St Louis ppd rain San Francisco at Pittsburgh ppd rain rs “You’ve got to give them all the credit” said Malone “They did a great job They blocked everything out and won the ball game They deserved to win” 3 National League nt Tripucka Ends His Jazz Campaign In Customary Seat — On Bench By Steve Luhm NHL Playoffs 8 for the The Jazz were within three first time since it was 3 midway through the first quarter Then came a crucial call Floyd started a drive toward the basket and he collided with John Stockton The crowd roared hoping for a charging call But referee Jack Madden called Stockton for the foul Instead Floyd’s two free throws pushed Golden 8 State’s lead to 'To me and I haven’t seen the film Sleepy shot an elbow on his drive” Stockton said “It wasn’t intentional but I got it under the chin Hey it could have been a foul on me You get caught up in the game and you don’t think you foul But sometimes you do “ It seems like that’s been the case the last few games of this series” added Stock-to- n who had 14 points and 13 assists “It seemed like when we needed a break we weren’t able to get one” Two Jazz players on the floor at the same time — Malone and Bailey — were asked what they saw “No comment on that” said Malone “No comment at all” Added Bailey “My opinion doesn’t make any difference If it did we’d go play it again I’m sure it was a key call But they were a lot of key calls What it boils down to is we shouldn’t have gotten behind by 22 points” The Jazz still had a final chance after EaThey were within three (114-11ton made one of two free throws with 39 seconds to play At that point a defensive stand and a three-poishot would tie the game in And the Jazz made five of 10 Game 5 But Smith rebounded a miss by Floyd When he put the ball back in with 17 seconds lead left Golden State enjoyed a five-poiand had iced its first win in five tries this season at the Salt Palace For the Warriors who now meet the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals balance was important Four players joined Car-ro- ll and Floyd in double figures Greg Ballard who scored just 11 points through four games of this series had 18 Chris Mullin had 15 Purvis Short had 14 Smith who averaged 5 Mi points through Game 4 added 12 Free throw shooting was another factor As a team the Warriors made 29 of 34 foul shots (853 percent) They buried 18 of 20 in the fourth quarter The Jazz on the other hand made 28 of 41 free throws (683 percent) They made seven of 11 in the fourth quarter including four of seven in the final 9:14 three-pointe- 1 5 Carroll Floyd Pace Golden State By Steve Luhm Tribune Sports Writer It was an historic day one which will live in infamy around the Salt Palace for years to come On Sunday the Warriors bombed the Jazz out of the NBA playoffs Golden State did it by winning the decisive d fifth game of its series with the 3 Jazz Joe Barry Carroll and Sleepy Floyd led the assault with 24 and 21 points respectively Historically the Warriors became the first NBA team since 1956 to win a series after losing the first two games They accomplished their seemingly impossible mission with red-hshooting through three quarters and enough poise in the fourth to quell a Jazz uprising that almost enabled deficit Utah to wipe out a “Did they miss a shot?” asked Karl Malone who had 23 points for the Jazz “I don’t think they did I don’t think they missed one all 237-200- 1 By Lex Hemphill Tribune Sports Writer When the Golden State Warriors returned to their Salt Palace locker room Sunday afternoon after eliminating the Jazz from the playoffs they were chanting “Three in a row three in a row” ‘Three in a row” isn’t supposed to happen in the NBA playoffs for a team that had lost series But it the first two of a happened Sunday for the history-makin- g Warriors who made their first playoff series in a decade one for the record books to remember Just a week ago Warriors Coach George Karl was standing in the hallway outside his team’s Palace locker room with a fat lip the result of an encounter with a fan in the ugly bedlam that followed Game 2 here and he was bravely saying he didn’t care about the 2 deficit his team was then facing Sunday afternoon he was standing in al3 most the same place saying about the I’m win a was of Jazz the “It great conquest so happy for JB Carroll and Purvis Short and Larry Smith the guys who have been here a long time” They were happy too “It was a long time for me a long time but it’s here” said Short who leaned over to the adjoining locker and hugged former Jazzman Jerome Whitehead who like Short had expe best-of-fi- 0-- 118-11- seasons before this rienced eight playoff-les- s one “I’m so happy I don’t know what to do” “We had a great experience back in the Bay Area when we played those two games and I think everyone wanted to go home and play some more games” said Carroll who said Sunday’s playoff victory was “a similar experience” to winning a championship in Italy in 1985 the Warriors will have more home games — at least two more — in the next round against the Lakers who have been resting since beating up on the Nuggets last week The Warriors won’t be rated much chance against the Lakers but Karl maintained “I’m not going to say what Doug Moe said” — a reference to the Denver coach’s minimizing his team’s chance of winning against LA While Short and Smith and Carroll are the Warriors to whom Sunday’s victory may have been the sweetest they all had to turn to the man who had the most playoff experience on the team — Greg Ballard — for a needed shot in the arm Sunday Ballard who was in the playoffs six times with Washington and who had appeared in twice as many playoff games as anyone else in this series had 18 points (two short of his career playoff high) and 11 rebounds in 25 invaluable minutes Smith whose foul trouble created the opening for more minutes for Bal Of course long-sufferi- lard said of the former Bullet: “I think he was our most valuable player tonight” Ballard has won two games at the Salt Pald ace in the past with shots When asked about his Palace magic he responded “It came back again I told you I like shooting in here I don’t know what it is about this last-secon- arena” Karl said he had planned to use Ballard more in the Game 5 pressure but he confessed “I’m no genius Larry Smith got in foul trouble so I had to play him” Smith and Ballard combined to give the Warriors 30 points and 25 rebounds at the power forward position (they did play three minutes together) The Warriors also got good numbers from Sleepy Floyd (21 points and 14 assists) and Carroll (24 points) but another player who gave them a boost was Chris Mullin who scored 13 of his 15 points in Golden State’s dominant first half After scoring only 20 points in the first three games of the series Mullin got 33 in the last two “I think I concentrated more on getting myself open” said Mullin who shot in the last two games “I think the first three games they were bumping me a lot Bobby Hansen was bumping me a lot So I just tried to concentrate on getting myself open and getting open shots” He succeeded So did the Warriors All-Sta- rs Jazz Take Step Backward After Eight Years of Gaining Momentum The momentum stopped for the Jazz Sunday afternoon Ever since the franchise moved to Salt Lake City from New Orleans in 1979 the team has made at least a small step forward in each of its eight seasons Sunday the Jazz took their first step backward Even when the team was a miserable loser there were discernable signs of progress The first year here the Jazz added an All-Stplayer in Adrian Dantley The second year — Darthey acquired a legitimate backcourt rell Griffith and Rickey Green The third year Frank Layden became the coach and the fourth year the team finally won 30 games Then came the winning years First the Jazz won the Midwest Division championship and advanced to the second round of the playoffs The next year they went 500 and surprised Houston in the playoffs to gain the second round Last year the Jazz managed a winning season despite inner turmoil and went out bravely in the playoffs to a Dallas team they weren’t supposed to beat anyway And this season? Well this season began last spring with Owner Larry Miller’s stated hope that the team would win 52 games The team didn’t come close In fact with the ex12-on a flurry of ception of a 3 December built ar a 500 team with that most basic of 500 elements — inconsistency Then came Sunday’s loss For the first time the Jazz bowed out of the playoffs against an opponent they should have beaten The Jazz had three match points against the Warriors and couldn’t cash in any of them For three qua-te- rs Sunday they were being blown out of their biggest game of the year and their smallest crowd of calendar-yea- r 1987 was on hand to watch Forward forward forward the Jazz bad marched — the division title in '84 the Houston upset in '85 the rookie splash of Karl Malone in '86 — and the size of the Salt Palace crowds kept escalating with the team’s progress Then came Sunday The momentum has stopped It happens to all NBA franchises save the Lakers and the Celtics at some point Ask the Sonics who won a championship eight years ago led the league in attendance three straight years and then plummeted quickly in both performance and fan interest before this season’s mild recovery Ask the Mavericks whose rise from the ashes has almost mirrored that of the Jazz over the last six years and who have suffered finishes the Jazz were essentially well-manag- their first backward step as well with their stunning playoff loss last week to Seattle 8 Now the Jazz in spite of a decent regular-seaso- n record have to deal with tbelr first step backwards too The Jazz are left with questions Most of the players who have just lost three straight congames to the Warriors are on long-tertracts and the draft if the Jazz keep hanging in the middle of it isn’t likely to yield another Karl Malone soon So the players who lost Sunday are the core for the Jazz’s future And they are certainly not on the road to challenging the Lakers if they can't get to them season You could argue that the 1986-8- 7 was supposed to be a transition season for the Jazz — a transition from the reliance upon Adrian Dantley to the development of their home-grow- n players as a unit 44-3- m Even last year with Dantley around it seemed apparent that the Jazz’s team of the future ultimately consisted of a front line of Karl Malone Thurl Bailey and Mark Eaton and a backcourt of John Stockton and Darrell Griffith With Dantley gone this was the year for that group to start melding together Accepting that premise then this was a lost year because they were rarely on the floor together Stockton Bailey and Griffith didn't start — Stockton because Layden didn't want to “lose” Rickey Green on the bench Bailey because Layden chose not to try Kelly Tripucka as this year’s version of the 1984 John Drew and Griffith because Darrell just never proved he was a better player than Bob Hansen which he had been expected to do It may well be true that the Jazz wouldn't have won any more than 44 games this year with a different starting lineup from the one they used but it is also true that if is their lineup of the future the Jazz haven't gotten any closer to developing it as a unit In fact the Jazz had little discernable identeam tity other than that of a revolving-doo- r of 12 good players They all contributed in I their own ways to the Jazz’s winning season but in the end that may have been a detriment because Layden chose not to take the traditional NBA coaching approach of paring his rotation down to eight or nine players for the playoffs So the Jazz continued their substitution pattern in the playoffs and one of the results was that Triand a man with' pucka a former valuable playoff experience was basically transformed into the Utah version of Rod Higgins Instead of deciding to divide the total playing time at the three frontcourt positions (144 minutes) among the team’s four best front-couplayers — which if distributed evenly would leave 36 minutes each for Eaton Malone Bailey and Tripucka — the Jazz opted to work others into the rotation as they had all year All-St- ar rt Maybe they would have lost to the Warriors that way too but we won't know now All we know now is that the Jazz's season is if not infeover with a loss to a lower-seede- d rior team and with 1000 empty seats in the Salt Palace It wasn’t supposed to end this way — with the momentum of these last four winning seasons ground to a sudden halt i |