No more: Jazz run out of comeback tricks

Golden State 91, Utah 78

OAKLAND, Calif. — Not this time.

Not with Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko scoring just four points apiece. Not with Deron Williams shooting just 5-of-14 from the field and Kirilenko 2-for-11. Not with 23 turnovers, and trouble overcoming a zone defense that had the Jazz looking more perplexed than the Utes trying to track down Jonny Harline.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no — on this occasion, there would be no comeback, no ninth straight win, no joy in Jazzville.

Golden State saw to that Saturday night, beating the still-league-leading Jazz 91-78 and serving a large slice of humble pie after a Thanksgiving week's worth of apple and pumpkin.

"They had us flustered," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They did a terrific job. We didn't know whether we were going to shoot, or what we were going to do. We were totally confused."

And perhaps most frustrating for Sloan is that he seemed to see it coming.

The lecture was delivered Saturday morning, as the Jazz broke down game film during a breakfast meeting.

"I told our guys today: 'We're not very good defensively. If we're gonna be able to be effective and move forward, we have to be a better defensive club,"' Sloan said before playing Saturday.

In other words, the Jazz cannot get by long term with simply outscoring opponents — as they did in compiling the NBA-best 12-1 record they took to Oakland.

Added Sloan: "I think (other) teams know that."

One of them, evidently, is the now 8-6 Warriors.

"The zone was a big topic of discussion," Sloan said, "but I was disappointed in the way we defended them."

Especially in the first quarter, and the third.

Utah looked as lousy as it has all season in Saturday's opening period, allowing the shorthanded Warriors — who were without injured guard Baron Davis, among others — to lead by 13 points after 12 minutes.

Golden State extended that advantage in the second to as many as 14 before Sloan's club finally started to play a bit.

A 10-0 run in the final three minutes and 38 seconds of the half — ignited by Williams' third 3-pointer of the game — had Utah down just one, 43-42, going into the break.

The third quarter, however, proved to be about as big a disaster for the Jazz as the first.