Talk about doing a complete 180, and I'm not just talking about the Jazz's turnaround from Tuesday's debacle in Dallas to Thursday's redemption win over San Antonio, either.

Judging their past performances for the past decade or so, Utah looked a whole lot more like San Antonio usually does in their match-ups that have been dominated by the Spurs over the years.

Don't just take my word for it, either.

"The whole game was about physicality and execution and both areas Utah was far superior than we were," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.

If that sounded about word-for-word what Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has said while his team had lost 23 of the previous 29 meetings against San Antonio, it's only because that's about how Utah usually lost these games.

Here's another Popovich-imitating-Sloan quote:

"I don't think we are a very good defensive team right now. We've got a lot of work to do to become a good defensive team and Utah obviously took advantage of that tonight. They executed really well."

And yet another:

"They are always an aggressive club and they do a great job of fighting for 48 minutes and tonight was a great example of that."

Some stats back up Popovich's claims, including how the Jazz outrebounded San Antonio 41-36 and outshot the Spurs 53.0 percent to 43.2 percent. Utah also was much more efficient with the ball, assisting on 23 of 44 baskets with only 10 turnovers. S.A. had only 14 assists and 11 TOs.

And this quote from the Bat Killer himself, Manu Ginobili:

"We know they are a tough team, and we didn't match their toughness and aggressiveness. It's the way Utah plays. Usually we are good enough to match their energy."

For a change - a hugely refreshing one for Jazz fans, no doubt - that wasn't the case in Thursday night's 113-99 victory.