Jazz vs. Hawks: Clutch Korver

What a relief! After the Clippers made us look Charmin-soft the other night, I was a little concerned that the Hawks might come in here and steal a victory. But I was only a little concerned, seeing as how the Hawks have tried winning in SLC almost as many times as Ralph Nader has tried winning in Washington; and they are about equally successful. The last time Atlanta won in Salt Lake they had Dominique Wilkins leading the way. For those of you that are under the age of 65, Wilkins used to play basketball.

The game wasn't as easy as I would have expected, though. In fact, it came down to the last few plays. All I have to say is that I'm grateful for Gordan Giricek; were it not for him, we never would have known Kyle Korver (I suggest his nickname be Killer Kyle Korver, or KKK). He's the best non-Puerto Rican closer in the western hemisphere. Last night he hit 6 of 6 free throws in the the closing minute to seal the victory for the Jazz! I have as much confidence in him as I had in Jeff Hornacek at the line. On a related note, Hornacek needs some love here because of what he has done with Andrei Kirilenko's game. Kirilenko hit a huge three late in the game with the Jazz up by only three. Speaking of confidence, in the past, each time Kirilenko took a jump-shot I would throw up a little in my mouth; since Hornacek's been working with him, Andrei's been 50% from beyond the arc!

The home streak continues. We're close to breaking the franchise record of 19 in a row, set back in 1995. We've got some tough games ahead, however (Detroit, Dallas, Minnesota. Wait, is there an NBA team in Minnesota?). Keep on rollin'!