Jazz win on 'firsts' night

On New Year's Eve, it only seemed appropriate that the Jazz would get an early jump on several firsts.

And they did.

First ejection of the season for coach Jerry Sloan.

(It gets better for Utah.)

First sellout of the season at the Delta Center.

(And it was a legit full house, 19,911 strong).

First -- (and this is the biggie) -- three-game win streak of the season, accomplished with a 108-102 win over Philadelphia on Saturday night that required contributions from many but no charity whatsoever when it mattered most for 76ers great Allen Iverson.

"Definitely," Andrei Kirilenko said after the Jazz improved to 14- 16, "we go into the new year with a good emotion."

Getting there, however, required riding an emotional rollercoaster more taxing than the ups and downs of waiting and wondering whether midnight would deliver a warm kiss on the lips or a cold cheek turned to the side.

It ended on a mistletoe high for the Jazz, but only after Mehmet Okur hit a late 3-pointer to tie the game at 101-101 and erase a Philadelphia advantage that had stood at seven with less than three minutes to go.

Okur's trey -- part of his 21-point, 13-rebound night -- came with 45.2 seconds remaining. Jazz starting point Keith McLeod fouled out with two quick ones on Philly's next possession, the second of which sent Iverson to the free-throw line, where he made the first but the missed the next to put the Sixers up 102-101. Kirilenko then made the most of Utah's next trip down the floor, driving for a looping side-to-side double-pump layup and hitting the free throw that followed.

The Jazz saved their best for last, though -- and it came on the defensive end of the floor.

With Utah ahead 104-102 and just 18.9 seconds left, Iverson -- who finished with a game-high 37 points, and went to the line so many times (making 13 of 18 freebies) that Sloan was tossed in the third quarter for complaining about the calls he was getting -- had the ball in his hands and a chance to tie or take the lead at his fingertips.

He opted to drive, hoping to make a layup and draw yet another foul, which came as no great shock to Jazz guard Milt Palacio. "The whole building knew he was going," Palacio said.

With good reason, too.

"Definitely he is supposed to be with the ball, because he is a superstar in this league," Kirilenko said of Iverson, the NBA's leading scorer with a 34.2 points-per-game average. "He is the best player on their team -- so he is supposed to finish that last attack."

Iverson may have started it, but the Jazz saw to it that he was unable to indeed finish.

Palacio, playing only because McLeod was gone and backup Deron Williams had fouled out with his sixth earlier in the final quarter, got his hand on the ball as Iverson tried to make it 39.

"All ball," Palacio said. "All ball. I got all ball."

Yet Iverson got a shot up anyway.

It probably would not have gone, but Kirilenko -- who wound up with four blocks to complement his 15-point, 12-board double-double - - slid across the lane and got another piece of it just to make sure.

There was no foul on the play, one of the few times throughout the evening that Iverson had the ball and the same could not be said.

"It's a good thing we had three point guards," said Jazz lead assistant Phil Johnson, who took over after Sloan exited, "because we're definitely in foul trouble the whole night.

"It's very difficult if you can't touch (Iverson) -- and we really put him on the line a lot," added Johnson, who went to a zone defense several times in the fourth quarter to help keep Iverson from going one-on-one. "He's just a great player."

On this occasion, though, that fact was trumped by good efforts from several with the Jazz, who can get back to .500 with wins in consecutive games against the Lakers tonight in Los Angeles and Tuesday night at the Delta Center.

Besides Okur's and Kirilenko's double-doubles, and two game- sealing free throws from each in the final 11.5 seconds, Gordan Giricek gave Utah a season-high and team-high 23 points, Jarron Collins pitched in a season-high 16, and Matt Harpring and Devin Brown combined for 23 off the bench.

"We don't give up," Okur said. "We don't quit."

That in and of itself is not a Utah first.

The Jazz can only hope, though, that it also won't be a last.

E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com

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