Glenn Rogers says that Pat Riley needs to forget the notion that the Heat might get back in the playoff hunt, that Larry Brown took another jab at Iverson, that Krause denies there was a power struggle between him and Floyd, that Lucas claims he'd be the best point guard ever if it weren't for drugs, and that Dan Issel got a severance package worth close to the $5 million he was scheduled to be paid this season and next.

One day after watching his team play from the horizontal position in the 76ers locker room, Larry Brown was back on the bench last night. He might have rather stayed in the locker room.

Playing for the fourth time in five days, the Sixers lost to the Utah Jazz, 89-81, dropping their record to 12-18. With Brown, without Brown, it does not seem to matter. Something is amiss with the Sixers, and not even their coach seems able to fix it.

Last night's loss was exacerbated by a 56-second stretch in the third quarter in which Derrick Coleman was ejected, followed by Jazz forward Donyell Marshall, and finally Corie Blount, who had come into the game in relief of Coleman.

The scrum started with 6 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third and the Jazz up, 54-45. Fighting for a loose ball on the offensive end, Coleman wrapped his arm around Karl Malone's neck. Malone pulled away, and then the two exchanged words, with Coleman throwing a punch that hit Malone below the shoulder. After some discussion, referee Tom Washington told Brown that Coleman was tossed. He could be suspended by the NBA for Wednesday's game for throwing the punch.

The Jazz provided plenty of fireworks Saturday night as they closed out the 2001 portion of their schedule - and offered a promising forecast for 2002.

Utah"s bench once again bailed out the starters after a slow start and the whole team withstood a barrage of technical fouls in an 89-81 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Delta Center.

The victory was Utah"s fourth in a row, boosting the Jazz above .500 for the first time all season with a 16-15 record.

Karl Malone led the Jazz with 20 points and 17 rebounds, and John Crotty led another stellar performance by Utah"s reserves with a season-high 17 points.

""It was a good win for our team," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. ""Again our guys off the bench came in and gave us really a nice lift and gave us a chance to win the ballgame.

""It has gotten to be a habit, certainly something that is really important to our team."

Sloan offered his biggest praise to center Greg Ostertag, who delivered his fourth consecutive strong performance.

Ostertag even sprained his ankle in the second quarter and returned to play nine more minutes in the second half, finishing with eight point, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in 29 minutes.

To Jerry Sloan, the 800th win of his NBA coaching career was not a big deal.
   
To Larry Brown, it might be a big, big deal.
   
Karl Malone scored 20 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds, and John Crotty added a season-high 17 points as the Jazz won their fourth straight game, an 89-81 victory over the unhappy Philadelphia 76ers at the Delta Center on Saturday.
   
The win moved Sloan into a tie with Brown for ninth place on the NBA's all-time list.
   
Sloan's record improved to 800-463. Among the 10 winningest coaches, only Pat Riley (.648) and Red Auerbach (.662) own a better won-loss ratio than Sloan (.634).

It's a shame the Jazz must soon ring in a new year, because they sure did end this one with a bang.
     
Utah closed 2001 with a 89-81 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday night, winning its fourth game in a row ? including three since after the Christmas holiday.

The Jazz did it in front of a crowd, too, playing before 19,911 at the Delta Center, which was sold out for the first time this season.
     
And the best part about the victory for Utah was that it was no fluke.
     
"I just think we're getting better," said veteran backup point guard John Crotty, one of several bench players who boosted the 16-15 Jazz over the .500 mark for the first time this season. "You see improvement game in and game out."
   
Jerry Sloan, who credited Utah's subs for their role in his 800th career coaching victory, could not agree more.
     
"It was a good win for our team," said Sloan, who logged his first 94 regular-season wins with the Chicago Bulls, and all the rest in Utah. "Again, our guys off the bench came in and gave us a really nice lift, and gave us a chance to win the ballgame.

Peter Vecsey and his infallible sources say that Larry Brown may be headed to Denver.  As usual, Petey only gets half the story.  In today's Rocky Mountain News, the whole story is told.  It appears that Brown wants to retire in the Denver area and for right now his focus is in Philly. "I've got my team all screwed up, so I've got to figure out how to help our team," Brown said. "That's my main concern."

DENVER ? The mighty-mite scorers on both sides, Allen Iverson and Nick Van Exel, rang up their points Friday night at the Pepsi Center.

But when the Philadelphia 76ers needed Iverson most, the Denver Nuggets denied him the ball at the end of the game and held on for a 93-90 victory, snapping a four-game losing streak and giving interim Nugget coach Mike Evans his first official win.

Iverson, the NBA's leading scorer, tallied 38 for the Sixers and Van Exel countered with 33.

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Box score

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But in Philadelphia's final two possessions, the ball went instead to Aaron McKie, who missed a pair of 3-point field goal attempts in the last 10 seconds of the game, one to give his team the lead and the second to force a tie at the buzzer.

Ashley McGeechy of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Jabari Smith will join the 76ers tomorrow in Phoenix, a team source said last night.

The Sixers released forward Michael Ruffin yesterday, paring their roster to 13 players, so there is room for the 6-foot-11 center the Sacramento Kings picked in the second round of the 2000 draft but waived this month.

Also yesterday, the Sixers took Speedy Claxton off the injured list after he had missed eight games with a sprained left ankle.

"We're not going crazy with trade possibilities," Sixers coach Larry Brown said before last night's game with the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. "We're trying to get our guys healthy and see how good we are and if we are good enough.

"I haven't seen our team out there. We're getting closer. If we can get healthy with this group, then we'll just see how we stack up."

Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson wanted to make a deal, and so did his Philadelphia counterpart, Billy King. Paxson had his eyes on forward Tyrone Hill, and King longed for swingman Matt Harpring.

Easy, right?

Not at all. Since Hill was due $6.6 million for this season and Harpring $1.9 million, other players had to be thrown in to even out the salaries on each side.

Several players were discussed, but Paxson insisted on wanting forward Jumaine Jones. He eventually got what he wanted. So last Aug. 3, Hill and Jones went to the Cavs for Harpring and forwards Robert Traylor and Cedric Henderson.

Two months into the season, the 6-foot-8, 218-pound Jones is averaging 10.6 points and 7.9 rebounds. Not bad for a player many considered a throw-in.

``We needed to get more athletic, so putting Jumaine in the trade was important for us,'' Paxson said. ``But he's a better rebounder than I thought.''

Paxson figured the player pulling down all those boards would be Hill, who has a career mark of 8.7. Hill, who practiced yesterday for the first time, has yet to play this season due to a back injury. But the emergence of Jones in his third season has eased much of the Cavs' frustration over Hill.

Jones' offense needs work. He's not a great ballhandler, so he doesn't get to the hoop much for easy buckets or to draw fouls. But Jones is doing plenty of other things well for the Cavs. In Wednesday's 91-89 loss to New Jersey, he had a career-high six blocked shots.

``I'm far from a shot blocker,'' said Jones, who has 18 this season.

But Jones, who has averaged 9.8 during the past eight games, is willing to brag about his rebounding.

``I want to average 10 rebounds a game,'' said Jones, who averaged 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds while playing 10 minutes a game in his two seasons with the 76ers. ``I've got that ability. I just have a nose for the basketball.''

Jones is a hard worker, and he's very athletic, so he can jump over players. While at power forward, where Jones has played much of the season, he uses quickness to get around foes. But he's also willing to bang into them.

``He's not afraid to throw his body around,'' Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. ``He gets in there against guys who are bigger and doesn't shy away from contact.''

With small forward Lamond Murray out with a strained back, Ilgauskas was inserted into the lineup Wednesday. That resulted in Chris Mihm moving from center to power forward and Jones going to small forward.

Lucas said Murray won't play tonight against New York or tomorrow at Chicago. When Murray returns, Jones is expected to be the odd man out. But the Cavs believe he will be able to provide valuable athleticism off the bench at power and small forward.

It's appropriate Jones soon will be playing both positions since nobody can agree on where he is better suited. Assistant Jerry Eaves was asked which is Jones' natural position.

``For him to be in the league a long time, it's three (small forward),'' Eaves said.

Coach John Lucas was asked the same question.

``His body is a three, but he's a four (power forward),'' Lucas said. ``He won't be a great three, but I'm not certain he can't be a great four.''

Since Lucas has the final word, he'd prefer to play Jones mainly at power forward. But when Hill returns, the Cavs will be overloaded there, so Jones also will have to play small forward.

Jones doesn't care where he plays as long as he plays. He has high hopes for his game.

``I want to be a Dennis Rodman-type, but better offensively,'' said Jones, who is a non-stop ball of energy.

Jones, shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range, is a solid outside shooter. But Lucas believes he too often settles for outside jumpers. That's why he's constantly doing ballhandling drills, such as dribbling through cones.

It would have been laughable early in the season to compare Jones' defense with Rodman's. But Jones has gotten much better in that area.

Eaves awards players $5 for each charge they take. Guess who has gotten the richest?

``Jumaine's taken $90 (18 charges) from me,'' Eaves said. ``That's a big lead over Bimbo (Coles), who's taken $50.''

But that's small stuff when one considers what the Cavs took last summer from the 76ers.

CLIMBING A HILL -- Hill, who hurt his back last summer, participated in 30 minutes of halfcourt drills. ``I'm still going to have soreness until I get my legs back under me,'' said Hill, who looked stiff. Hill said he wants ``to get in a couple of games on the West Coast trip (Jan. 10-18), and I want to be ready for the Miami game (Jan. 21).'' Paxson and Lucas both said it's too early to establish a timetable on when Hill might play.

NOTABLE -- Lucas is hopeful Murray can practice next week and play Wednesday against Golden State. . . . Center Michael Doleac, out since Nov. 21 due to a fractured ankle, has had his walking boot removed and next week will do treadmill work. Paxson doesn't expect Doleac back until after the West Coast trip. . . . Lucas talked to his team for 30 minutes yesterday. ``I expect more out of them,'' said Lucas, who called recent problems ``mental.''

Sports Ticker's Chris Bernucca writes of the most memorable NBA feat of 2001. Sure, Shaq and Kobe continued their dynasty. Yes, the draft was filled with high school kids. Certainly Michael Jordan's return was memorable. But the NBA in 2001 will be remembered as the year that Allen Iverson won over America. White America. Suburban America. Corporate America.

How did he do it? Five years ago, Iverson was the poster boy for everything that was wrong with the NBA. A checkered past that included jail time. A kid, then another, out of wedlock. A defiant attitude. A marijuana arrest. A selfish game, with lots of style and very little substance. A knucklehead, as they say in the trade.

Without changing himself at all, Iverson changed how we all feel about him. By compelling us to watch, he made us look closer. And when we did, we saw things that we'd like to think we see in ourselves, our friends, our spouses, our children. Things like honesty and courage, determination and heart. Things you can't fake. Things that are genuine.

Five years. What took us so long?