Utah Jazz: Sloan offers praise for job done by Price

HOUSTON — Jazz coach Jerry Sloan couldn't say enough about his point guard after Utah's Game 2 first-round NBA playoff victory over Houston on Monday night.

But that's the case most nights, as starter Deron Williams — who finished with a team-high 22 points Monday — usually produces for the Jazz.

What had Sloan extra excited after Game 2, however, was the play of Williams' backup, Utah Valley State product Ronnie Price.

"We're happy for Ronnie Price," Sloan said after watching him finish with eight points, including two 3-pointers. One of the treys was particularly key delivered at the end of the third quarter.

"He's a non-nonsense guy, and he wants to play," Sloan added. "He makes the best of what he has almost everytime he's on the floor."

Price, a Houston area native, played in front of several friends and family members.

"It was exciting to see my family," Price said, "and it was exciting to get two wins in Houston in front of (them)."

BROKEN BUS: One of two Denver team buses traveling to the Staples Center for Sunday's Game 1 of the Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers series was stranded on a highway because of a fire.

Those on the bus reportedly heard a pop, saw black smoke, then heard another pop.

"I'd have drawn a gun if I heard it pop and start crackling," Sloan joked Monday. "That would have scared me to death."

Sloan also shared the worst bus story from his NBA playing/coaching career, which has spanned parts or all of five decades.

"I guess the worst one was trying to get from Buffalo, N.Y., to Chicago — riding the bus all day and all night," he said.

"We couldn't get on a plane in Buffalo, we couldn't get on one in Cleveland. We just kept driving until we got to Chicago at about 7 o'clock in the morning, and then we had to play that night. After that game we had to turn around and go back to New York, and after that game we had to go to Boston through all the snow and everything on the East Coast.

"We played them in an afternoon game — the first time the Bulls ever played on national television," Sloan added. "That game was at 12 o'clock, and we got in at about 4 o'clock in the morning."

If a bus had mechanical issues back in his playing days, Sloan added, delays were simply accepted.