Winning on road has been tough for Jazz in postseason

HOUSTON — The Jazz knew all along that at some point they would have to win on the road in the playoffs. There would be no getting out of Dodge without a shootout.

So here it is, Cowboy. High noon.

"You go on the road and it's 3-3," said forward Andrei Kirilenko, "so it's excitement, of course. But we don't get too excited. Yet."

Russian-to-American Sports-speak translation: Stay tuned.

No turning back now.

All that's left for the Jazz in this first-round playoff series, which continues tonight at the Toyota Center, is to figure out how to beat Houston on the road. Honestly, is that so tough? It's one game. It's not as though coach Jerry Sloan is asking them to find a window table on a Friday night, or a $200,000 house in Holladay. He's only asking them to go all out for one more game. (Of course, after that, he'll ask for more, but that's a different story.)

"We feel very confident as a team," added Kirilenko, "which is more important than any individual performances. If we are going to stay together as a team, we will be fine. It's going to be tough playing in Houston. Those fans are tough, and they will be ready for us."

Then there's that other nagging part of the equation: Will the Jazz be ready for them?

Admittedly, this is a different season, with different players and teams than in other years. Still, winning on the road in the playoffs is always a dicey proposition for the Jazz. If the past is any indication — and how many other indications are there? — they probably won't survive Game 7 tonight. However, it's not as though they have a lot of history to draw conclusions from.

All-time, the Jazz have only been in three Game 7s, winning once and losing twice. The last time a Game 7 happened for Utah was in 1996. That year the Jazz fell behind 3-1 to Seattle in the Western Conference Finals but rallied to tie the series. (That was before Shawn Kemp started getting confused with the Michelin Man.) Game 7 was in Seattle, and though the Jazz hung with the Sonics into the final moments, they lost by four.

Two years earlier, it was just the opposite. The Jazz took a three-game lead over Denver, appearing well on their way to a sweep. But the Nuggets, inspired by a finger-wagging, trash-talking Dikembe Mutombo (now nearing retirement with Houston), tied the series. It seemed the Jazz had lost their confidence. Or not. They rallied to beat the Nuggets by 10 in Salt Lake to win the series.