Moore eligible for playoffs

Deseret Morning News Jazz beat writer Tim Buckley told Mikki Moore prior to Wednesday's game that Jazz VP of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor had found out from the NBA that Moore will be available to the Jazz should they make the playoffs.

Moore still didn't totally believe the news that came because Buckley was preparing a feature story about him and asked, and O'Connor made some phone calls.

Moore and coach Jerry Sloan and assistant Phil Johnson still hadn't been told by team officials even after the game that it was true, but after going almost a month thinking that he wouldn't be eligible, as the Jazz had assumed, "I had my fingers crossed," Moore said.

The news, confirmed again after the game for reporters by O'Connor, had "a little bit" to do with Moore's biggest night as a Jazzman.

Moore had a foul-plagued first half but came off the bench to score all 15 of his points, block two shots and grab five rebounds in the fourth quarter as Utah pulled away from the New Orleans Hornets to win 89-76 in the Delta Center.

For the game, Moore totaled 5-for-6 shooting, on both field goals and free throws, and had six rebounds, three blocks and an assist. It was his highest-scoring game this season and just one off his career high.

News that he was playoff eligible helped, as did the chance last weekend in Los Angeles to see his daughter, who will turn 5 this month, had Moore on a high.

He accomplished all that in just 15 minutes of play, due to the fouls. And the 7-footer who was one of the Jazz's stars for the night wound up having to ride the stationary bike in the training room for 20 minutes after game, following team rules for those who don't get 20 minutes of playing time.

"Now I have to ride the bike a little harder," he said, vowing to be extra ready for playoff minutes.

"We've got to get there first," said Sloan, who added he's happy for Moore. Sloan and the rest of the front office thought Moore wouldn't be eligible for the playoffs, but O'Connor found out from the league that, because the Jazz signed him as a free agent and not as a player who'd been waived off of another team's roster, he actually will be available. "I should have known," Sloan said after thinking about Moore being a free agent who was playing in the NBDL when the Jazz signed him for the rest of the season after releasing him once he'd had two 10-day contracts with them.

Een though Moore had only three fouls and two turnovers to show for four first-half minutes, his teammates, and even some of his former teammates now playing for the Hornets, were encouraging to him.