Playoff pitch in early April: Utah wallops San Antonio

Chatter in the Jazz lockerroom afterward was of playoff atmosphere, and postseason-type basketball.

If only they have it as easy come late April, May and — dare it be said — June as it was Friday night against the defending NBA-champion San Antonio Spurs, then Jerry Sloan's club really will have something to yap about.

Until then, Sloan is content to enjoy for the moment a 90-64 win over Tim Duncan and the Spurs at sold-out EnergySolutions Arena — and soon move on to the final five games of the 2007-08 regular season.

"I told 'em the first day of training camp, 'You guys are good enough to win it all,"' the Jazz coach said. "Now I don't know what else I have to say. ... I'm not running around telling them every day.

"I don't see that it does any good to talk about it," Sloan added the Northwest Division-leading Jazz — idle now until playing Tuesday night at New Orleans — improved to 51-26 overall and a league-best 35-4 at home. "You have to be man enough to go out there and prove it. And we'll see."

Even Sloan, though, had to like what he and a national ESPN audience saw Friday.

The Jazz — who need either one more victory or one Golden State loss to secure their second straight playoff berth, something that could come when the Warriors play Sunday at New Orleans — didn't just end San Antonio's NBA-high eight-game win streak.

They did it in style, holding the 52-24 Spurs to a San Antonio franchise-record tying low 64 points.

The Spurs also scored just 26 points in the second half, an all-time franchise low, and only nine points in the fourth quarter.

Moreover, two-time NBA MVP Duncan managed only 15 points while super-sub Manu Ginobili, who had 29 and 37 points the first two times Utah and San Antonio played this season, was held to eight with 2-of-10 shooting from the field.

"For us to play that kind of defense against them," Jazz forward Carlos Boozer said, "is encouraging."

Such was especially the case with regard to Duncan, who finished 4.5 points below his season average coming into the night.

"That's what we did the last game with Duncan: We just frustrated him, tried to double-down on him," said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who had 16 points and a game-high 11 assists to pull into a tie with Boozer for the team lead in double-doubles with 50 this season.