Jazz pick up tempo, cruise by Warriors

OAKLAND, Calif. — Just get going.

Whether it's Keith McLeod, who made his second straight start Friday night, or rookie Deron Williams, who again backed up McLeod, or even veteran journeyman Milt Palacio, who played a good bit after Williams got into early foul trouble, that's all Jazz coach Jerry Sloan really wants from his point guard.

Just get the Jazz offense going.

"We can't play at a snail's pace all the time, by walking the ball up the floor," Sloan said.

"If you (quickly get into the offense on transition) on a consistent basis it puts a lot more pressure on the defense," he added, "and keeps our big guys from just kind of sauntering down the road."

On Friday, McLeod and Williams saw that the Jazz picked up where they left off with Wednesday's season-opening win over Dallas. The two helped Utah to beat Golden State 91-85 in its road opener, and exit with a swagger rather than merely saunter away.

With the win, Sloan moves ahead of Bill Fitch and alone into fifth place on the NBA's all-time coaching victories list with 945. The 18-season Jazz coach now trails only leader Lenny Wilkens (1,315), Don Nelson (1,190), Pat Riley (1,110) and still-active New York Knicks coach Larry Brown (987).

Sloan, figuring there was no reason to mess up a good thing, started the same five he did in Utah's 93-82 win over Dallas, with McLeod accompanied by shooting guard Gordan Giricek, small forward Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur at power forward and center Greg Ostertag.

McLeod got the call despite Wednesday's heroics by Williams, who scored 18 in his NBA debut and played the whole fourth quarter as the Jazz rallied to beat the Mavericks.

That was fine by undrafted McLeod, who has no trouble dealing with all the hype surrounding the Jazz's heir apparent at the point.

"That's Deron. I'm happy for him," McLeod said of Williams, the No. 3 overall selection in last June's NBA Draft. "He's my teammate, and I support him 100 percent.

"You know me — I'm not a big media guy, or trying to be in the limelight. I just go out and try to do my job."

McLeod, a soft-spoken professional, also is not one to make a fuss even if Sloan had opted to go the other way.

"If he feels like me starting off the game will help the team get out to a good start or help us get into the offense or whatever," he said, "then that's fine with me.

"If he feels like there's another guy he wants to start that will help us get off to a better start," added McLeod, a third-year pro who started 47 of his 53 games for the Jazz last season, "then that's what we'll do."