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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- John Stockton thought he had seen it all
during his 18-year NBA career.
That was before Thursday night.
|  | | Jazz center Olden Polynice, right, stuffs James Posey under the basket. |
Stockton hit two technical foul shots in the last 1.3 seconds,
lifting the Utah Jazz to an odd 98-96 victory over the Denver
Nuggets. The win was sealed when the Nuggets called a timeout when
they had none remaining.
"Fortunately, I was oblivious to everything else," Stockton
said. "You shoot a lot of practice free throws in your life. You
just step up there and relax. Sometimes, it goes in."
It was a confusing ending to a dramatic game. Stockton's free
throws made up for his missed layup in the final seconds. Nick Van
Exel corralled the rebound on Stockton's miss and signaled for a
timeout.
Referee Dick Bavetta, standing nearby, looked away, apparently
refusing to determine the outcome of a closely fought game that was
tied at 96. The timeout call was made from the other side of the
court by referee Tony Brothers after Utah's Bryon Russell pointed
it out to him.
"I thought we had a timeout but I guess we didn't," Van Exel
said.
When Bavetta refused to award the timeout, Van Exel spiked the
ball at his feet. By then, Brothers was in the fray, which took
several minutes to sort. After Stockton gave the Jazz a 97-96 lead
with his first foul shot, Brothers hit Van Exel with another
technical for arguing.
"It was bad on my part that we didn't have that timeout," said
Denver assistant John Lucas, who coached the Nuggets because Dan
Issel was in Phoenix to attend his uncle's funeral.
"They had one for us on the scoreboard, but I can't sleep at
night without telling you that we knew there wasn't a timeout,"
Lucas said. "What happened with Nick also happened with me."
It was reminiscent of Chris Webber's costly mistake in the 1993
NCAA title game. North Carolina went on to win after the Michigan
star called a timeout in the closing seconds that the Wolverines
didn't have.
For the Nuggets, the end of the first half was equally hard to
digest, especially considering the game's outcome.
Utah led 50-48 at halftime after Kevin Willis was called for
goaltending on a layup by Olden Polynice with 3.8 seconds before
the break.
"They made a bad call before the end of the second quarter and
we said, 'What if it comes down to those two points?' " Van Exel
said. "Then they want to rule again when it's decision time. They
ought to let the players decide the outcome."
Donyell Marshall scored 24 points for the Jazz, who won for the
seventh time in eight games. Karl Malone scored 22 and Stockton had
15 points and 10 assists. John Starks and Bryon Russell each added
12 for the Jazz.
Antonio McDyess led Denver with 24 points and 12 rebounds while
Voshon Lenard scored 23 and Van Exel had 19, including 10 in the
fourth quarter.
The Nuggets have been one of the best teams in the NBA lately,
winning 15 of 19 since mid-December, but they knew they'd have to
improve their 6-12 road record to be taken seriously.
As it turned out, Denver lost its 10th straight in Salt Lake
City and its 28th in the last 30 visits after the Jazz erased a
90-83 deficit midway through the fourth quarter.
"It was a tough loss," said George McCloud. "We controlled
pretty much the whole game. They made some plays down the stretch,
but the scoreboard said we still had a timeout."
Malone's dunk with 1:01 to play gave Utah a 96-94 lead. Van Exel
missed at the other end, but tied it at 96 when he split the lane
for a layup with 5.2 seconds remaining.
Game notes
Lucas seemed to enjoy handling the coaching duties again.
He often raced up to midcourt to direct his team or argue with
officials, usually with a smile on his face. ... Before Thursday's
games, McDyess was tied with San Antonio's Tim Duncan, sharing the
NBA lead with 30 double-doubles. ... Stockton will play his 1,300th
game Saturday against the Spurs.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
Dallas 120
Vancouver 83
Portland 92
Indiana 82
Minnesota 109
Orlando 100
Utah 98
Denver 96
San Antonio 97
Sacramento 91
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Karl Malone Official Site
Bryon Russell Official Site
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