Jerry Sloan often talks about playing forward, his way of saying put the past behind you and focus on the moment.

But the Utah Jazz coach couldn't help breaking his own rule Friday night, after his team had put away the Portland Trail Blazers, 93-85, at the Delta Center.
     
Time and again in his postgame remarks, Sloan compared that effort to the dismal performance that resulted in a blowout defeat Wednesday at the hands of the Timberwolves.
     
"It was a good win, especially after the loss the other day, to get back on the right track," he said. "The taste of losing is not very good."
     
Friday's game figured to be interesting, if only because it was a matchup of teams that have shown distinct split personalities this season. Like the Jazz, the Blazers have had their ups and downs.
     
"They're kind of an X-factor," Jazz guard John Crotty said of the Blazers, with whom he played a couple seasons ago. "You never know what you're going to get."