When Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was playing in the NBA in what he calls "the olden days," the notion of a player missing a game because he was ill was inconceivable.

Two days after Manu Ginobili, Brent Barry and Matt Bonner missed the Spurs' game against Milwaukee, and with one of his key reserves back in Salt Lake City recovering from a bout with the same sort of stomach virus that has afflicted the Spurs of late, Sloan discussed his own playing days and today's NBA.

The difference: the amount of money teams have invested in today's players.

Utah's Matt Harpring remained in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz play Saturday night, ailing with the same sort of stomach virus that has beset the Spurs' locker room.

Back in his day, Sloan said, players rarely were advised against playing, no matter how sick they might be.

"Yeah, I've seen guys get sick," Sloan said, "but they played. I don't mean anything against anybody, but in the olden days, you didn't have doctors telling you you were going to die in a couple days."

Down to eight players after four were suspended for their role in a brawl, New York erased a 16-point deficit Monday night and stunned the Jazz 97-96 in overtime on Stephon Marbury's layup just before time expired.

With the jerseys of Nate Robinson, Mardy Collins, Jared Jeffries and Jerome James hanging in their lockers, the Knicks shook off Saturday's embarrassing scene against the Nuggets and the penalties announced earlier in the day by commissioner David Stern.

Jazz forward Carlos Boozer was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, December 11 through Sunday, December 17.  This marks the second time this season that Boozer has been named Western Conference Player of the Week.

Boozer led the Jazz to a 3-1 week while averaging 22.8 points, and added a Western Conference-best 12 rebounds per game. Boozer scored 31 points in a win over the Dallas Mavericks on December 11 to help Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan notch his 1,000th career victory.

Just because Jerry Sloan is treating Deron Williams like John Stockton, doesn't mean the second-year point guard likes it.  Sloan has been trying to limit Williams' minutes, the same way he did with Stockton early in his career.

"I don't like it," Williams said. "You just start playing, getting into the rhythm of the game, and you're out."
   
"I'm not going to try to get everything I can out of him in one year," Sloan said. "I've always felt like I've had a responsibility to guys, not only for today but for their future. I told John [Stockton] that. He never liked it, but I said, 'Would it be better for you to play 15 years, or 10?' "

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.

Utah coach Jerry Sloan will be aiming for his 1,000th career win tonight when his Jazz visit Minnesota.

Utah's 101-88 win over Milwaukee on Monday night gave Jerry Sloan 999 career wins.

He has a chance to go for 1,000 when the Jazz visit Minnesota on Dec 8.

The NBA on Thursday called a Saturday news conference at EnergySolutions Arena, where it's believed the awarding of a D-League team that will begin play next year in Utah will be announced.

It is believed the team will begin playing in the 2007-08 season.

The Orlando Magic?s Brian Hill and the Utah Jazz?s  Jerry  Sloan  today  were  named  the  NBA  Eastern  and Western Conference  Coaches  of the Month for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 31) through November.

Hill,  in his second tour of duty as Magic head coach, led the team to a 12-4  (.750)  record  to  start  the  season,  including wins in nine of Orlando?s  last  10  games.  The  Magic  enjoys  a  4.5-game lead in the Southeast  Division, the largest in any division. The Magic's 12-4 start is  its  best since the 1998-99 season, when it opened with an identical mark.

Sloan led the Jazz to a 13-4 (.765) record for the month, which included a  9-2 mark in Western Conference play. Opening the season by winning 12 of  13,  Utah  enjoys  a  three-game lead in the Northwest Division. The Jazz?s  8-1  mark  at  home  this  season  is  tops  in  the league. The fifth-winningest  coach in NBA history, Sloan needs just three victories to reach 1,000 for his career.