GAME THREAD: NBA: UTAH (9-7) at SAN ANTONIO (11-4)

NBA: UTAH (9-7) at SAN ANTONIO (11-4)

<h3>Jazz aim to stave off elimination vs. Spurs in Game Five</h3>



<div class="pre">Utah at San Antonio 9:00 pm EDT</div><div class="pre">Western Conference finals Spurs lead, 3-1</div>

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- In Game Four, the Utah Jazz picked uptheir first loss at home this postseason. As a result, the SanAntonio Spurs are on the brink of their fourth trip to the NBAFinals since 1999.

Trailing, 3-1, the Jazz aim to stave off elimination when theytake on the Spurs in Game Five of the best-of-seven WesternConference finals on Wednesday night.

Manu Ginobili scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarterand Tim Duncan collected 19, nine rebounds and five blocks asSan Antonio posted a 91-79 victory over Utah in Game Four of theWestern Conference finals on Monday.

The impressive victory came two nights after the the Jazz pickedup their first win of the series with a 109-83 throttling ofthe Spurs. But it was not as easy against the a prepared SanAntonio team, which had its antennas raised after theembarrassing loss.

"It was not - what we did in Game Three was not right," Ginobilisaid. "It was not the appropriate fear that we should havehad."

The Jazz, who had been undefeated at home so far thispostseason, also were 9-0 all-time at home vs. San Antonio inthe playoffs prior to the loss. Utah got to within one pointwith 9:41 left but would get no closer, faltering down thestretch.

But despite ending their skid, the Spurs surprised no one withthe victory.

Perennially one of the toughest teams in the NBA, San Antonioimproved to 6-4 in games following a defeat by at least 12points in the postseason since the 2002-03 campaign. Butaccording to Ginobili, the Spurs cannot get too comfortable withtheir position.

"We got to stay humble. We got to know that they're not goingto give us anything," Ginobili said. "If we are going to winGame Five, it is going to be because we played hard and wereally fight through it and have a good game. But we know theseguys are not going to give us anything. It is going to beanother tough battle."

Deron Williams, who played despite missing practice due to thestomach flu, continued to be Utah's most dominant force -collecting 27 points and 10 assists on Monday.

If necessary, Game Six will shift back to Utah on Friday.

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

UTAH VS SAN ANTONIO - INACTIVES

UTAH SAN ANTONIO

PLAYER NAME REASON PLAYER NAME REASON
C MILES COACH'S DECISION M ELY COACH'S DECISION
J BUTLER COACH'S DECISION</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS


UTAH AT SAN ANTONIO - PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS


UTAH SAN ANTONIO

F Andrei Kirilenko F Bruce Bowen
F Carlos Boozer F Tim Duncan
C Mehmet Okur C Fabricio Oberto
G Derek Fisher G Tony Parker
G Deron Williams G Michael Finley

OFFICIALS: Tom Washington
Bernie Fryer
Greg Willard</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS


UTAH AT SAN ANTONIO - PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

REVISED LINEUPS

UTAH SAN ANTONIO

F Andrei Kirilenko F Bruce Bowen
F Carlos Boozer F Tim Duncan
C Mehmet Okur C Fabricio Oberto
G Deron Williams G Tony Parker
G Gordan Giricek G Michael Finley

OFFICIALS: Tom Washington
Bernie Fryer
Greg Willard</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 4
SAN ANTONIO 5 9:00 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 8
SAN ANTONIO 14 5:59 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 11
SAN ANTONIO 30 2:40 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 15
SAN ANTONIO 34 END, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA END 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
UTAH 15 15
SAN ANTONIO 34 34 END 1ST QTR

HIGH SCORERS AFTER 1ST QUARTER

UTH - CARLOS BOOZER 4, DERON WILLIAMS 3,
ANDREI KIRILENKO 2
SAS - TONY PARKER 11, TIM DUNCAN 9, BRUCE
BOWEN 6</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 24
SAN ANTONIO 44 8:54 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 28
SAN ANTONIO 49 5:46 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 34
SAN ANTONIO 52 3:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 39
SAN ANTONIO 55 HALFTIME</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
UTAH 15 24 39
SAN ANTONIO 34 21 55 HALFTIME

HIGH SCORERS AT HALFTIME

UTH - MATT HARPRING 7, ANDREI KIRILENKO 7,
DERON WILLIAMS 7
SAS - TONY PARKER 14, MANU GINOBILI 12, TIM
DUNCAN 11</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 43
SAN ANTONIO 61 9:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 47
SAN ANTONIO 69 5:48 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 51
SAN ANTONIO 76 2:52 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 56
SAN ANTONIO 83 END, 3RD QTR</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA END 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
UTAH 15 24 17 56
SAN ANTONIO 34 21 28 83 END 3RD QTR

HIGH SCORERS AFTER 3RD QUARTER

UTH - DERON WILLIAMS 11, ANDREI KIRILENKO 9,
MEHMET OKUR 8
SAS - TIM DUNCAN 21, TONY PARKER 21, MANU
GINOBILI 12</div>

 

NBA: UTAH at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
UTAH 62
SAN ANTONIO 91 9:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>