Estimated read time: 7-8 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Go ahead. Admit it. You thought they were done. But somehow the Utah Jazz found a way to do what almost all of us thought to be impossible.
Whether the Jazz end up winning this series or not, you can no longer question the heart of this team. The odds were stacked against them but they didn't seem to care. They willed themselves to victory in a hostile environment. Now home-court advantage belongs to them.
Monday night's shocking 114-111 game 2 victory in Denver is a victory Jazz fans will never forget. It will go down as one of the greatest road playoff wins in franchise history. But if you look closer at history, you will find several other epic road wins for the Jazz in the playoffs.
Take a look at this list and decide which road playoff win is the greatest of all.
Game 4 vs. Denver -- First Round, April 24, 1984
It was the first playoff series in franchise history. The Jazz were down two games to one and were facing elimination in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets. Denver columnist Woody Paige accused the Jazz of not having any heart after they lost Game 3. The team was determined to prove him wrong.
With the game tied at 124, Rookie Thurl Bailey hit a jump shot with 38 seconds left and the team held on to win 129-124. The Jazz would return home in front of a sell out crowd and win Game 5 with a decisive 16-point victory.
Game 5 vs. Houston -- First Round, April 28, 1985
After failing to close out the series at home in Game 4, the Jazz traveled to Houston for Game 5. Disaster struck in the 2nd quarter when Mark Eaton suffered what would be a season ending knee injury. It appeared the Jazz were doomed, but instead, what happened in the 2nd half became the stuff of legend.
Eaton was replaced by 15-year veteran Billy Paultz. The man nicknamed "the Whopper" came off the bench to score 6 points and grab 5 rebounds. But his most important contribution was getting under the skin of Rockets star Akeem Olajuwon.
Early in the 4th quarter Olajuwon punched Paultz in the face and was ejected. From there the Jazz took control. Thurl Bailey scored 15 of his 20 points in a 37 point 4th quarter for the Jazz. Jeff "the franchise" Wilkins, Fred Roberts and John Stockton also came off the bench to help the Jazz eliminate the Rockets 104-97. It was the 2nd road win in the series for Utah.
Game 2 vs. L.A. Lakers -- Western Conference Semifinals, May 10, 1988
The Jazz were big underdogs against the defending World Champions, but they didn't seem intimidated. Led by the young combo of John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz shocked the Lakers in Los Angeles, 101-97. It set the tone for what would become a classic seven game series.
Although the Jazz fell in game 7, their performance earned the Lakers' respect and vaulted John Stockton and Karl Malone to superstar status. [CLICK HERE to see video of the game]
Game 1 vs. Phoenix -- First Round, April 25, 1991
The Jazz shot a scorching 65 percent in this series opener on the road in a 129-90 win. That's right. The Jazz won by 39 points against a higher seeded team on the road in the playoffs.
The Suns had a star-studded roster that included Kevin Johnson, Tom Chambers, Xavier McDaniel and Jeff Hornacek, but they had no chance against the red hot Jazz.
Stockton-to-Malone was in full effect in this game as both all-stars finished with double-doubles. Karl finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds while John made 72 percent of his shots while scoring 18 points and dishing out 15 assists. Jeff Malone, Blue Edwards and Thurl Bailey all scored in double figures.
Game 5 vs. Sonics -- Western Conference Finals, May 28, 1996
After losing Game 4 at the Delta Center, the Jazz were down 3-1, facing elimination in Game 5 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals in Seattle. Karl Malone scored 29 points and 15 rebounds while Jeff Hornacek chipped in with 27 as the Jazz won in overtime 98-95.
Karl Malone was quoted after the game saying, "I saw the headlines that said the Jazz are dead, stick a fork in them, they're done. But we ain't done yet. We're still cookin.'"
The Jazz would force a game 7 where they would lose a heartbreaker 90-86.
Game 6 vs. Houston -- Western Conference Finals, May 29, 1997
This may be the sentimental favorite. It wasn't an elimination game and the Jazz likely would have won game 7 at home, but this win may have been the most important win in franchise history.
The Jazz trailed in Houston by 10 points with three minutes left in the game. A furious rally left the game tied with 2.8 seconds left.
Karl Malone's pick on Clyde Drexler left Stockton wide open. He took the inbounds pass from Bryon Russell, took a dribble, and fired a shot from 25 feet over Charles Barkley. The shot hit nothing but net as time expired sending the Utah Jazz to their first NBA Finals. [CLICK HERE to see video of the game]
Game 5 vs. Houston -- First Round, May 1, 1998
This 1998 rematch almost became the biggest playoff collapse in Jazz history. Despite having the NBA's best record, the Jazz were facing elimination in Game 4 in Houston.
The Rockets had an 11-point lead midway through the 3rd quarter. That's when the Jazz turned the game around while the Rockets collapsed. Karl Malone had 29 points and 13 rebounds while Bryon Russell and Shandon Anderson each scored 15 off the bench. They outscored the Rockets by 32 points in the final 20 minutes of the game allowing them to avoid an embarrassing playoff defeat. They won Game 5 at the Delta Center and eventually returned to the NBA Finals.
Game 5 vs. Chicago -- NBA Finals June 12, 1998
Momentum was not on their side. The Jazz had dropped three straight games in the 1998 NBA Finals and were facing elimination in Game 5 in Chicago. Michael Jordan and the Bulls were ready to celebrate their 6th NBA Championship with their fans on their home court. But Karl Malone had other plans. The Mailman delivered his greatest performance when the Jazz needed it most. He scored 39 points in an 83-81 win that sent the series back to Salt Lake City.[CLICK HERE to see video of the game]
Game 4 vs. Sacramento -- First Round, May 14, 1999
With Michael Jordan retired, the strike shortened season in 1999 was supposed to be the year of the Jazz. Instead, they had to use every ounce of energy they had to knock off the upstart Sacramento Kings in a first round series.
In Game 4 in Sacramento, the Jazz found themselves down 2-1 in the series and facing elimination. With 7.2 seconds left in the game, Vlade Divac was fouled by Greg Ostertag. He went to the line and made both free throws giving the Kings an 89-88 lead.
Just when it looked like the Jazz were doomed, John Stockton nailed another cold-blooded, game winning shot with 0.7 seconds left on the clock giving them a one point win. They would go on to win Game 5 in Salt Lake City in what turned out to be a classic playoff series. [CLICK HERE to see video of the game]
Game 7 vs. Houston -- First Round, May 5, 2007
It was supposed to be Tracy McGrady's moment. The same goes for Yao Ming. It was supposed to be time for these All-Stars to finally breakthrough and win a playoff series.
The Jazz were the young, inexperienced team that should have been content with just reaching the postseason after a 3-year absence. Things didn't go according to script in Houston for Game 7.
It should have been the veteran Rockets who showed poise down the stretch. Instead, it was the young Jazz. They rode the back of their own star, Carlos Boozer, who scored 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
In the final moments, it was two big threes by Mehmet Okur and some big rebounds and hustle to give the Jazz a 103-99 win. It was the first Game 7 victory on the road in franchise history. The team eventually reached the Western Conference Finals before being eliminated by eventual champion San Antonio.[CLICK HERE to see video of the game]
E-mail: jjensen@ksl.com
