Jazz Streak Past Pistons 109-98

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 15, 1998 / 12:00 AM EST / CBS Sportsline

Detroit coach Alvin Gentry thought his team played well enough Sunday to beat almost any team in the NBA. Unfortunately, the Pistons were facing the Utah Jazz.

"That's a helluva basketball team," Gentry said after Utah won its 10th consecutive game, 109-98 against Detroit. "I thought we played pretty well, to be honest. We shot 49 percent, we rebounded well, and we didn't turn the ball over. This one wasn't us, it was them."

Karl Malone had 28 points and nine rebounds, and Jeff Hornacek had 22 points as the Jazz won their eighth straight on the road.

"We knew we had to be alert of Detroit, because they were coming off good wins versus Indiana and Boston," Hornacek said. "We tried to keep the ball out of Grant Hill's hands, and double-team him every time he touched the ball. That was a great strategy."

Hill led Detroit with 29 points, but 10 came after the game was out of reach, and he only had one assist. Brian Williams added 24 and 14 rebounds, but guards Lindsey Hunter and Joe Dumars combined for only 11 on 4-of-20 shooting.

"I really don't think we played badly," Hill said. "They just played better. That was a tough game, because any time you make a mistake, they make you pay."

Hunter has scored only 18 points in his past four games.

"I'm not worried, because he's still getting good looks at the basket," Gentry said. "Lindsey's going to have streaks when he struggles for four or five games, and then he gets hot again."

Leading 46-41 at halftime, the Jazz used a 17-4 surge to open a 72-57 lead. Malone scored eight points in the spurt and had 12 in the quarter as Utah led 77-66 after three.

"In the third quarter, we did an excellent job with our execution and our shot selection, and our bench did a good job," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "Joe was really getting some good looks at the basket, and I was very concerned what would happen if he started hitting them. Fortunately, he never really did."

Detroit native Howard Eisley started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and Utah moved its lead to 15.

The Pistons closed within 92-83 behind seven points from little-used Steve Henson, but Jerry Stackhouse's technical foul with 5:48 to play slowed Detroit.

Hornacek made the technical, then added a pair of jumpers as the Jazz pulled away.

Henson finished with nine points in nine minutes. That gives him 26 points in 39 minutes this season, but spread out over 13 games.

"I just try to stay ready, because I figure that eventually I'm going to get a shot in a game that isn't already decided," he said. "I just waiting fo them to call my number."

NOTES: Hunter and Dumars were 2 of 11 in the first half, and combined for just two assists in 29 minutes. ... Utah has won 10 of its past 11 games against the Pistons. ... Jeff Hornacek returned to Utah's lineup after missing the previous two games with a sprained right knee. ... Detroit tried Henson defensively on John Stockton in the fourth quarter, and Henson was called for three fouls in three minutes.