The Utah Jazz did not have its "A" game against the Trail Blazers on Friday night.
   
Nor did the Jazz need it.

Utah still looked more like a team challenging for the Midwest Conference lead than one that started the game two games below .500 as the Jazz beat the Blazers 93-85 at the Delta Center.

If there were ever a case of a game not being as close as the final score seemed to indicate, this was a classic example.

The Blazers, playing without Scottie Pippen and Bonzi Wells because of injuries, trailed by 19 points less than a minute into the second quarter, and the Jazz toyed with the Blazers after that. In fact, the Blazers needed a 24-11 run in the final 6:30 to make the final score appear respectable.