Slow and steady? No, it's a race

It didn't take long for one thing to become clear to the Utah Jazz — Golden State plays at a much quicker pace than Houston.

So much for the measured tempo that prevailed in Utah's seven-game series with the Rockets. Monday's opener — a 116-112 Jazz victory over the Warriors — got off to a swift start.

Utah and Golden State combined for 72 points in the first quarter and 129 by halftime. The latter exceeded three of the combined tallies the Jazz and Rockets had after three quarters in their first-round series. The opening quarter featured 21 more points than any of Utah's starts with Houston.

The Jazz kept up with the Warriors early on and held a 37-35 lead after one quarter. They did so with success on both sides of the court.

Mehmet Okur scored 10 points and Deron Williams added eight to headline an offense that shot 54.2 percent from the field. Andrei Kirilenko set the tone defensively with four blocked shots in the first 12 minutes.

Golden State, however, managed to stay in contention thanks to a surprising 14-point effort from reserve Al Harrington.

When Baron Davis warmed up in the second quarter — scoring 17 points after getting blanked in the first — the Warriors pulled in front. They held a 66-63 lead at the break in a tight game featuring 14 ties and nine lead changes over the first two quarters.

"That's a lot of points. You kind of get suckered into playing their game a little bit and that's OK. To win this series we're going to have to find the mixture of running a little bit and then also settling down and executing," said Jazz forward Matt Harping. "I think we're getting used to playing them. They're a great team and they play such an unconventional style that hopefully every game now we get a little bit better and we get more used to what they bring to the table."

The tempo calmed down in the third quarter with the Warriors outscoring the Jazz by a 23-21 margin. By game's end, however, it was Utah dictating a faster pace. The Jazz pulled away with a 32-23 advantage in the fourth quarter. They wound up winning the battle for fast-break points by a 25-19 count.

"I think we executed a little bit better on offense," said Harpring. "When you execute and you take some good shots, it slows them down. Then they're not in a track meet with you and they're not getting easy looks.

"Hopefully for the next game, we look at our film and we look at what we did wrong and we move on."

---

E-mail: dirk@desnews.com