SPURS REPORT: <SPURS CHOKE(ED) BY JAZZ>

[mode...@news.delphi.com]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T H E S P U R S R E P O R T
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Compiled, Edited and/or Written By
DUSTY GARZA
(in L.A.)


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Karl Malone scored 34 points, including a 20-footer
with 42 seconds to play, and the Utah Jazz held off a late San Antonio
rally to
win 95-90 Thursday night, eliminating the Spurs from the NBA playoffs.
The Spurs trailed 91-84 before Dale Ellis scored and missed a free
throw that Dennis Rodman tipped in, making the score 91-88. Malone then
hit his key jumper to rebuild the Jazz lead back to five.
David Robinson came back with a spinning jumper, pulling the Spurs to
93-90,
and they got the ball back with 12 seconds remaining. But David Benoit
grabbed a loose ball and dunked just before time ran out.
In winning the best-of-5 series 3-1, Utah beat San Antonio in Salt Lake
City
for the 21st time in 22 games, and for the seventh time in eight games this
season.
Malone also had 12 rebounds, while John Stockton had 18 assists to go
with 13 points. Benoit finished with 15 points, hitting seven of nine
shots.
Robinson had 27 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, and Ellis
scored 24.
Rodman pulled down 20 rebounds to go with nine points.
Rodman -- who missed the Spurs' 105-72 Game 3 loss here due to flagrant and
technical fouls in Game 2 -- kept his pregame promise to "go to war."
With pop star Madonna cheering him on from a second-row seat about 25 feet
from the Spurs' bench, Rodman repeatedly tangled with Jazz players.
Within a minute midway through the third quarter, he collected his
third and
fourth personal fouls and a technical after scuffling with Utah center Felton
Spencer. Rodman ended with five fouls.
Rodman's fouls, along with Malone's short hook and two free throws
highlighted an 8-2 spurt that helped Utah pull away from a halftime tie to a
60-54 lead with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
But Lloyd Daniels' short jumper and Robinson's 12-footer trimmed the
deficit
to two, and the quarter ended with Utah leading 66-64.
A 12-5 run, highlighted by Ellis' 3-pointer and Rodman's three-point play,
gave the Spurs a 76-71 lead with 8:10 remaining. But the Jazz scored the next
eight points, reclaiming a lead they never again relinquished.
From the beginning, the Spurs served noticed this would not be a repeat of
the Jazz blowouts in Games 2 and 3. Robinson hit his trademark baseline jumper
on the first possession, Vinny Del Negro drove inside for a pair of
buckets and
Ellis drilled a 3-pointer to give San Antonio a 9-2 lead.
But the Jazz chipped away at the Spurs' lead, pulling within a point on
Stockton's 17-footer. Spencer's short jumper tied the score at 26-26 going
into
the second quarter.
Hornacek's back-to-back buckets and Malone's foul shots gave Utah a 39-34
lead with 5:39 before intermission.
A 10-2 Spurs run, capped by Ellis' corner jumper, put San Antonio ahead at
44-41, but Utah had five of the first half's last seven points to salvage a
46-46 tie.

SAN ANTONIO (90)

Ellis 10-19 0-1 24, Rodman 4-7 1-1 9, Robinson 11-21 5-8 27, Del Negro 3-7
0-0 6, Anderson 4-12 0-0 9, Knight 3-12 1-1 7, Daniels 1-4 0-0 2, Reid 3-4 0-1
6, Cummings 0-1 0-0 0, Floyd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-87 7-12 90.
UTAH (95)

Corbin 1-4 0-0 2, Malone 11-22 12-14 34, Spencer 3-7 2-5 8, Stockton
5-8 3-3
13, Hornacek 5-7 3-3 13, Humphries 2-9 2-2 6, Chambers 2-3 0-0 4, Benoit
7-9 0-0
15.Totals 36-69 22-27 95.
San Antonio 26 20 18 26--90
Utah 26 20 20 29--95

3-Point goals--San Antonio 5-16 (Ellis 4-8, Anderson 1-1, Rodman 0-1, Del
Negro 0-2, Knight 0-2, Daniels 0-2), Utah 1-4 (Benoit 1-1, Hornacek 0-1,
Humphries 0-2). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--San Antonio 49 (Rodman 20),
Utah 42
(Malone 12). Assists--San Antonio 21 (Anderson 7), Utah 25 (Stockton 18).
Total
fouls--San Antonio 22, Utah 20. Technicals--Rodman. A--19,911.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
AND IN LIGHTER NEWS ....
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Madonna, the newest Spurs fan, recently linked
with Spurs forward Dennis Rodman, slipped into the San Antonio-Utah
playoff game Thursday night just before tipoff.
The pop star and her entourage briefly were mobbed by photographers,
but took their seats without incident. Madonna sat in the second row,
across an entry tunnel and about 25 feet from San Antonio's bench.
Rodman returned to play Thursday night after a one-game suspension for his
conduct in Game 2 last Saturday at San Antonio.
Madonna seemed to enjoy the game and laughed when she noticed hundreds of
Jazz fans waving white balloon "worms" -- an allusion to Rodman's
nickname, "the Worm."
Could it be THIS is the team Madonna wants to buy?

I say go for it.

(And when you do, material girl, fire the idiot who couldn't get the Spurs
a point guard the last two years... His name is Bob Bass... His office
door reads: "G.M.")

Until we meet again, this should be the last SPURS REPORT for a while.

Congratulations Utah! Go get 'em!!!!


DUSTY

////////// ////////// ///// ///// ////////// /////////
\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\
\\\\\ \\\\ \\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\\ \\\\
\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\
\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\ \\\\ \\\\\\\\
\\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\ \\\\ \\\\\
\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\ \\\\ \\\\\\\\

T H E
R E P O R T