"They were being aggressive and going hard to the cup, and we couldn't adjust," Jazz guard Raja Bell said. "Obviously we didn't do a good job."

Which sounds like a suspiciously similar story to Monday night, when the Hornets did much the same as the Bulls did to the Jazz on Wednesday.

"Anybody can beat you," Bell said. "That's evident with these last two games."

And it's really not because the Jazz were being generous — or even because after a 6-1 start, they simply figured they could show up and win.

"I'm reluctant to say that we were overconfident," Bell said. "We just got beat (Monday) by a team that hadn't won a game — so I can't see how we would have thought this was going to be a cakewalk.

"It seems the swagger that we had at the beginning of the season - maybe teams were a little intimidated by us," he added. "They definitely aren't anymore."

NOTES: Giricek exited after taking an accidental forearm to the nose from teammate Jarron Collins, but returned in the final minute. Giricek's bloody nose was not broke, but he did say it was "all numb." . . . Arroyo is featured in the new issue of Slam magazine, on sale beginning Friday. . . . Former Deseret News Jazz beat writer and Jazz Talk host Dave Blackwell, now retired, was honored at halftime and presented with a framed Jazz jersey.

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E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com