JAZZ HOPE TO ‘BANG’ OUT WIN VS. SPURS

For the Utah Jazz to beat the San Antonio Spurs in their best-of-seven series, they almost have to play a perfect game. But pitching a perfect game is probably not a realistic goal at this point goal for team who is still learning how to win on a consistent basis.

But one thing this Jazz team won’t do is quit. It’s just not in their DNA and the leaders of the team won’t just roll over and hand the Spurs a victory.

“Just come out and bang, man. Show energy, play with a lot of pride and get out there and continue to fight,” said forward Paul Millsap, who has been held to nine points in each of the last two games.

Utah is probably not looking to win four in a row at this point. It’ll settle for just one win against the top-seeded team in the West.

“Go out there and stay positive. This is the playoffs so you’ll never know what can happen. We just have to stick with it,” Utah forward Josh Howard said.

The Spurs have been scary good in the series, playing efficiently on offense and locking down on the Jazz main scorers defensively. Utah has no answer for Spurs All-Star guard Tony Parker, who is averaging 24 points in the series and dominating his matchup against an old nemesis in Devin Harris.

San Antonio’s incredible depth also appears to be wearing on the Jazz, and one of its top bench players is forward Stephen Jackson, who won a championship with the Spurs in 2003 and would like to add another jewelry to his collection.

“We don’t want to give them any life. We want to go out there and be aggressive and try to finish this thing,” Jackson said. “We’re still going to respect them like we’ve been have. We’re just going to continue to get the job done.”