Bell happy to take last shot

For a young veteran looking for a new beginning with a new team, Raja Bell found the perfect way to end Saturday night's first home preseason Utah Jazz game.

Far from being the first option on an inbounds play with one second left and the Jazz trailing Seattle by a point, Bell set a pick for teammate Sasha Pavlovic and then found a soft spot in the Sonics' zone. Inbounder Matt Harpring hit Bell after it looked like Andrei Kirilenko and Pavlovic were covered, and Bell floated the ball over an oncoming Reggie Evans.

"I felt like I put it up high enough," said Bell, who didn't know until well after he was in the locker room that officials scrutinized the action on instant replay with the Sonics at midcourt watching and offering commentary that the shot was too late to count. It was ruled good, and the Jazz went to 2-0 in the pre-season with a 90-89 victory.

"II had no idea," Bell said about officials watching the replay over and over. "I would have been real upset" if the original ruling on the court had been overturned.

"I don't know what option I really was, but the fact that I got the ball was really cool, and to hit the shot I really needed it. I was glad that it could be in that type of situation," said Bell, asking forgiveness from fans for missing his first four shots of the game. The winner was the only one that fell, but he said they all felt good, so the makes will come as he becomes more comfortable.

Obviously, his comfort level rose with the final shot, even if it's only preseason. "Really big. We're not looking at it as a preseason game.

It was really big mentally, Bell insisted, noting that Seattle played star Ray Allen 32 minutes.

"Last time I made a shot like that to win a game is probably college, maybe CBA," Bell confessed.

And, "Never with one second on the clock. I've had the ball with eight, nine seconds left, but to have to get it up that quick and make it was pretty cool," especially in his first Delta Center home game. He has said several times that it was his least favorite place to play as a member of the opposition.

Bell has a lot to live up to, at least as far as upholding the honor of his locker stall in the Jazz room. He has John Stockton's old spot. Keon Clark has Karl Malone's corner dressing stall.