Jazz guard defensive vs. LeBron

The last time LeBron James played in the building once called the Delta Center, he scored a team-record 51 points and the fans of Salt Lake City gave the Cleveland Cavalier a standing ovation, much to the consternation of others interested in the Utah Jazz, who lost that game nearly 13 months ago by 13 points.

James had averaged 37.3 points against the Jazz in his three tries, and the Cavs had won four straight against Utah.

Wednesday night, though, things changed a bit as the Jazz came from behind for a 99-98 victory, James scoring 23 but only eight in the second half, mainly going against Jazz guard Gordan Giricek.

"I tried to force him left, tried not to give him time to make his move. And also, my teammates would cover me," said Giricek, who is steadfast that he plays very hard defensively no matter which player he's guarding.

"I was pretty confident because I had the big guys behind me, Andrei (Kirilenko), Paul (Millsap) and Memo (Okur) and Jarron Collins and (Rafael) Araujo, and they blocked some shots, particularly Andrei.

"When (James is) close to the basket and spins, he's taller than me, and it's very hard to contest him, so Andrei did a great job to block the shots, and I appreciate him helping me out. They make my job easier."

"That's a tough assignment for anybody," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "(James) is a wonderful player."

Sloan said the Jazz plan was to try to keep James from shooting 3s, and when he got into traffic, to try to defend him without putting him on the free-throw line.

"(Giricek) has done a pretty good job in other situations defensively," Sloan added. He used Giricek against James some in the first half and for much of the second half.

"There's times where I maybe should have played him a little bit more," Sloan said.

That should be music to Giricek's ears, because he has at times been frustrated at not playing enough.

"I stuck with him tonight," Sloan said, "because I thought he was doing a fairly decent job."

"Yeah, he left me in the game," said Giricek, who played long minutes at the end of the game when it was in doubt and, in fact, may have sealed Cleveland's fate by being in the way of former Jazzman Sasha Pavlovic, who stole a pass and headed for midcourt for a final shot.

Pavlovic, said Giricek, "hit his shoulder into my shoulder. I didn't move. I just stood in front of him. I didn't think it was a foul."