Perhaps it was the picture of John Stockton with a cotton-wad up his nose, blocking the blood. Maybe it was Jerry Sloan, stomping like a madman on the sideline.
     
Either way, it didn't look like things were going very well Thursday night for the Jazz as they said adios ? barring a playoff matchup ? to the Alamodome.
     
Or should it be good-riddance?
     
San Antonio beat the Jazz 102-98, running its record to 9-3 against Utah over the last 12 regular-season games between the teams in the building which the Spurs will soon vacate.
     
To do it, San Antonio took advantage of what smelled suspiciously like home cooking. It left the Jazz with a bitter taste in their mouths, too.
     
"We're the old Jazz, from Utah. That's not cool ? you know," said Karl Malone, who had 14 rebounds with his team-high 30 points. "But . . . take nothing from those guys. They still hit shots."
     
Especially free throws.
     
The Spurs, who move next season into the SBC Center, made 30-of-32 from the line, including 17-of-17 from 35-point game-high scorer Tim Duncan.
     
San Antonio's 7-footer seemed be the beneficiary of calls that seemingly went against Utah starting center Jarron Collins virtually every time the rookie so much as looked funny at Duncan, one of many factors frustrating the Jazz.
     
Another: The treatment of Stockton, who besides picking up some cheesy fouls was the recipient of an apparently inadvertent but still-painful knock to the nose courtesy of Malik Rose's lower forearm.