Utah Jazz not fond of current place in standings

MINNEAPOLIS — The Utah Jazz find themselves somewhere today that they haven't been in quite awhile.

Somewhere they'd really rather not be, because it's a place that's really not much fun.

No, silly, we're not talking about Minnesota.?

We're talking about being under .500, which is where the Jazz (15-16) find themselves for the first time since Jan. 2.

Indeed, after a 1-3 start in December, their strong 11-4 showing in the month of January has turned into a frustrating 3-9 struggle in February.

And although the Jazz are last in the NBA's Northwest Division standings, a scant percentage point behind the Timberwolves, their record at this juncture might still be somewhat better than most so-called experts predicted it would be before this cramped and condensed NBA campaign got under way.

That doesn't matter much to Utah power forward Paul Millsap and his teammates, though.

"We know how good we can be if we come and bring it every game," Millsap said. "We know what we can do. If they say we was .500, I say they're lying. We was supposed to be better and our record doesn't show how good we thought we've been fighting."

Tonight the Jazz have one last chance to try and get back on track before the All-Star break when they take on the Timberwolves at the Target Center (6 p.m., ROOT).

Utah dropped a disheartening 106-102 decision to the San Antonio Spurs, the league's hottest team, on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

It was another setback in which the Jazz were right there with a chance to win, clinging to a two-point lead with five minutes to go, only to see the Spurs' veteran-laden lineup stage a strong finish down the stretch to pull out the narrow win — their 11th straight victory.

And it seemed only fitting that, on Presidents Day, a guy named Jefferson would decide the final outcome.

Utah trailed by just two, 102-100, late in the game when Jazz center Al Jefferson missed a potential game-tying jump shot. Then, with just 6.5 seconds remaining, the Spurs' Richard Jefferson drilled a 3-point dagger from the corner to give San Antonio an insurmountable five-point lead, 105-100.

Over the years, the Jazz have come to expect that type of clutch performance from the Spurs, who with savvy stars like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili — who sat out Monday's game with an injury — have won four NBA championships since 1999.