SALT LAKE CITY — If fans are still beaming and buzzing about the Utah Jazz's thrilling buzzer-beating 97-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, they're certainly not the only ones.
Less than 12 hours after shocking LeBron James and his Cavalier crew, the Jazz reconvened for practice and were still acting giddy and geeked about the way the game ended, too.
And not just the players, mind you.
"It was wonderful to see it happen," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Sundiata Gaines' 3-pointer that gave Utah an unlikely win over Cleveland to cap a wild fourth quarter.
"Our players are very excited about it and our coaches are very excited about it."
Though all were excited, no doubt, not all were healthy enough to practice Friday. Both Deron Williams (sprained right wrist) and Andrei Kirilenko (hyperextended right knee) sat out of practice this morning to receive treatment and rehab the injuries they suffered in Thursday's game.
Williams and Kirilenko will be game-time decisions for Saturday night's home game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
That one, of course, will have a hard time matching the excitement level of Thursday night's magical moment — a win that happened for the Jazz with Williams and Kirilenko in the training room, a fouled-out Carlos Boozer on the bench and against a red-hot James on the court.
Not to forget the hero who caused pandemonium inside EnergySolutions Arena when he hit his first 3-pointer of his short NBA career on a day that he'd been informed that he would get a second 10-day contract.
"I was thrilled to death," Sloan said. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime thing for just about anybody. There aren't a lot of Michael Jordans around."
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