Sloan gets career win No. 1,000; Jazz roll past Mavs

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- As much as he wanted to treat it like any

other victory, Jerry Sloan had to suffer through a little adulation

after the Utah Jazz gave him his 1,000th win as an NBA coach.

Jazz fans saluted Sloan with a chant of "Jer-ry! Jer-ry!" for

the final two minutes, then a standing ovation at the end of Utah's

101-79 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

"That's better than hearing them boo me. I've had a few of

those over the years," Sloan said. "The most important thing is

they were having fun because our team was playing well and I think

they enjoyed that."

After the buzzer, Sloan quietly shook hands with his players and

assistant coaches, then started toward the locker room as if it

were any other victory. He had to stop for a few moments as Dallas

coach Avery Johnson walked all the way down the floor for one more

handshake.

"He's been doing it for a long time and I went over to

congratulate him. He deserves it," said Johnson, who has 90 wins

in his short coaching career. "He's been one of the most

consistent coaches in the history of our game."

Carlos Boozer led Utah with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He said

after the game the Jazz players all signed the ball, then presented

it to Sloan -- whether he wanted it or not.

"That's how Coach is. Coach is one of those guys that's the

same guy every day. He's not going to celebrate a big win," Boozer

said. "That's not who he is. He has bigger goals in mind."

Sloan is the fifth coach to win 1,000 games. It was much more

important to him that the Jazz (16-5) kept the NBA's best record

and beat the defending Western Conference champion Mavericks.

"I'm glad it's behind us and now we can play basketball," said

Sloan, who is 1,000-663 as a coach.

Deron Williams finished with 15 points and seven assists for

Utah and Andrei Kirilenko had four blocks and six assists to go

with his 10 points. Matt Harpring added 15 points and eight

rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 26 points and 11 rebounds. No one

else approached double figures on the boards for the Mavericks, who

were outrebounded 42-26.

"They really got the best of us at both ends of the floor,"

Nowitzki said. "In the third and the fourth, we couldn't really

get it down to 10, eight, to make it a ballgame. You've got to give

them the credit."

Dallas has lost three of five since its 12-game winning streak.

The Mavericks had won seven of their last eight game against the

Jazz, but never held a lead in their first meeting this season.

Dallas shot 26-for-69 from the field. Anthony Johnson was the

only Maverick other than Nowitzki to score in double figures with

10 points.

The Mavericks made a brief push by hitting their first four

shots of the third quarter, cutting Utah's 51-39 lead to 55-47 on a

shot in the lane by Josh Howard.

Dallas got within 65-54 on a 3-pointer by Johnson as the shot

clock expired, but the Jazz answered with a 10-2 run. Kirilenko

drove around Devean George for a layup, then dunked over DeSagana

Diop off an inbounds pass to put the Jazz ahead 69-54.

Utah led 75-63 at the end of the third quarter and Williams

opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to start a 13-2 run for the

Jazz.

Boozer converted a three-point play that put Utah up 85-65, then

hit an 18-foot jumper to make the lead 22 with 8:07 left. Mehmet

Okur added a free throw before Maurice Ager hit Dallas' second

field goal of the quarter. Only 6:19 remained and the Mavs had

already pulled their starters.

Nowitzki and the other four starters were on the bench at the

end to hear Utah fans celebrate Sloan's milestone.

"That's awesome," Nowitzki said, shaking his head. "I'm not

really happy that we got to be a part of it, but he meant so much

to this league. He always gets the best out of his players."Game notes
The Jazz had 24 assists to eight for Dallas. ... George and

Avery Johnson received technicals at the end of the third for

complaining after Utah kept possession when the ball was knocked

out of bounds. Kirilenko made both free throws to put Utah ahead

75-59. ... Fisher and Nowitzki received technicals after colliding

in the first half. Utah assistant Phil Johnson got a technical a

few seconds later.