Not since Triple H faced off against Cactus Jack/Mankind/Mick Foley at Hell in the Cell was I this excited to see a match-up. It was arguably the best team in the league (well the best record) facing off against one of the hottest teams in the league. The San Antonio Spurs vs. the Feisty Utah Jazz. Let me give you a little background. I have never seen the Spurs play live (this was about to change) and I hate the Spurs. Not like I hate the Lakers Hate. I mean I just hate the Lakers because they are the Lakers. I hate the Spurs because they are that dang good! They have 15 year Veteran Timmy Duncan, perennial All-Star Tony Parker and an incredible supporting cast. One other side note, I fully believe Timmy should have to call "Glass" before every one of his shots, since he banks all of them off the backboard.
Thanks to an incredibly generous business contact, I was armed with a ticket to see the match-up. I have been to many many Jazz games over the years and as I walked into the arena there was a buzz in the air. It wasn't Playoff Excitement Buzz, but nevertheless, there was Buzz in the air. We walked around the ESA and into the Fanzz stores, checking to see what jersey's were being discounted. I picked out a new hat for this match-up and found my way down to my seat. Which it is a good thing that I went down, because after the dinner I had at Pei Wei, I just do not think I could have managed to walk up too many steps. (Dang you Pei Wei and your amazing Dan Dan Noodles!) We watched a little bit of the warm-up and I have to admit, I was a little star struck watching the Spurs warm-up.
Duncan tipped the ball to Parker and the game was under way. The Jazz were down early and I freely admit, I was a bit worried when they were down by 10. I have been to a few Jazz games where they fall behind in the first and they are sunk for the rest of the night. They stayed in the game and at the end of the first the Jazz were down by just six. The 2nd quarter saw the Jazz with more energy, more attitude, and well more buckets. I told Mike they were playing angry and at one point as Millsap dunked over a group of Spurs, I was pretty certain he told them all to just "Suck it". Then again, I might have just been having WWE flashbacks. The Jazz outscore the Spurs in the 2nd qtr 31-16 and took a 9 point lead into the locker room.
The rest of the game was a battle. When the Spurs tied it up at the end of 3, I was worried. I was even more worried when they were down by 8 with like 4 minutes left in the game. I was considering leaving at that point, because let's be honest, getting out of Winter Parking at the Gateway is Brutal after a Jazz loss. I am glad I didn't follow through on this as the Jazz hung in there and managed to tie it up. They were coming down the court and with 9 seconds left Mo Williams shoots a 3 that missed. The crowd at the ESA groaned. That was, until they nabbed the rebound.
Coach Corbin standing in the officials year yelled time-out for a good 2-3 seconds. Finally the timeout was acknowledged with 6.7 seconds left. The play was set up and Mike pointed out to me that Hornacek was in Hayward's face giving him a pep-talk. Yep, the winning shot was going to be made by the hot hand of young Gordon. The ball was in-bounded and once again the ball was in the hands of Mo Williams. As he was pulling up for the 3, everyone held their breath. For the better part of 2 second the arena was silent. As that old "Cow-hide Globe hit home" the crowd ROARED! Mike yelled, I yelled, I lost my voice. (It is not back) What an outstanding finish to a fun game. I had a great time and the 30 minutes it took to get out of the parking lot didn't even matter. I thank my friends Tyler, Bryan, and Brad for the tickets. What a great time!
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