For stretches Tuesday night, the Jazz looked like they've been doing this a while. In the homestretch of their 2001-2002 season opener, however, they acted as if it's all rather new.

With John Stockton driving past John Amaechi and the Bucks' Sam Cassell, the Jazz got an early leg up -- only to fall in OT.

Tom Smart, Deseret News
     And maybe it is, because the Jazz of old ? circa '97-'98 ? aren't accustomed to crumbling quite like they did late in the fourth quarter and in overtime of a 119-112 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at the not-quite-sold-out Delta Center.
     "It's disappointing," said 39-year-old Jazz point guard John Stockton, who, personally, was anything but disappointing with an 18-point, 14-assist performance. "We were in good position and didn't do much down the stretch ? and they did."
     The Bucks were quite literally unstoppable during a five-minute OT, making 7-of-7 shots from the field and a pair of free throws to boot.

Until the last two minutes of overtime, the Jazz were right there, ready to pounce. They led by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter and were seemingly in control. Suddenly, there weren't enough people making shots and they couldn't stop the scoring at the other end and isn't this where we left off?
     Has it really been nearly six months since Dallas?
     The Jazz opened the new season with a 119-112 overtime loss to Milwaukee Tuesday at the Delta Center. It was a respectable effort, though you'd have a hard time getting Jerry Sloan to admit it.
     "We have a lot to learn and a lot to work on if we want to be a decent team over the year," he said.

Andrei Kirilenko thought he had a pretty fair idea of what the NBA was all about after playing in eight preseason games.
     Nyet.
     The Utah Jazz rookie has a much more realistic idea today after getting a full dose of regular-season clutching, shoving and hacking in Tuesday night's 119-112 season-opening loss to the talented Milwaukee Bucks at the Delta Center.
     And the Bucks rarely even play defense.
     What's Kirilenko going to think after a relaxing evening against the borderline felonious Miami Heat?

Quincy Lewis' surprise start at shooting guard in the Jazz's season opener Tuesday night didn't exactly blow anyone away.
     Least of all, it seems, Lewis.
     "We lost," the third-year swingman said after Utah fell 119-112 to Milwaukee in overtime. "So who really cares what I did?"
     Lewis actually posted respectable numbers in his nine-minute performance, shooting 2-of-4 for four points and dishing a couple of assists. But an apparent inability to get the job done on defense prompted Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to turn to veteran John Starks most of the rest of the way.

Kirilenko and Amaechi.
  While that pairing does not have quite the same ring as Stockton and Malone, the newest members of coach Jerry Sloan's regular rotation will go a long way in determining the Jazz's success.
  Yet, these keys are made from different metal.
  Andrei Kirilenko is a 20-year-old rookie from Russia with marvelous natural ability, keen basketball instincts and a chance for stardom. John Amaechi has inched within a month of his 32nd birthday. He plays in the NBA because of patience and determination, not because of his gene pool or breathtaking ability. He is, and will always be, the dependable plodder and not the sleek thoroughbred.

Entering his 17th season with the Jazz, Karl Malone admits he"s a little bit slow getting focused on the start of a new season.

Known for his rigorous year-round workouts, Malone says physically he is ready to go, but mentally he"s not into it 100 percent.

""Mentally, I need to get there and I"m getting there," he said. ""Being old, it"s taking me a little time to get warmed up."

Malone, 38, missed four games late in the preseason to visit his ailing mother in Louisiana and says he has been slow getting back in the groove, comparing himself to a diesel engine on a cold morning.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Jazz kick off a new season tonight facing a team that swept them a year ago.

And the schedule doesn"t get any easier any time soon.

Tonight"s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Delta Center kicks off a five-game stretch that"s as tough as any the Jazz face all season.

The NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers are at the Delta Center on Thursday, then the Jazz go on the road for games at Seattle on Saturday, a rematch with the Lakers on Sunday, and they play at Portland next Tuesday.

""I love it," Jazz swingman Bryon Russell said. ""I"d like to play good teams all he way through. It makes us better now and prepares us to know what we need to do. I"m ready to go."

The Jazz see this early test more along the lines of a quiz than a final exam.

With 82 games to go for all, the Jazz were figuring the Milwaukee Bucks have got to like their chances.
     And that was even before their latest acquisition.
     Now, with power forward Anthony Mason added to a cast that already boasts three legit headliners, the Bucks really do seem to be sitting pretty as the 2001-2002 NBA season gets under way.
     "I think they are going to be very tough to beat," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.
     Sloan was discussing Milwaukee's hopes of emerging as the cream of the Eastern Conference crop.
     He could just as easily have been speaking about tonight's opener for both teams, a Delta Center showdown that kicks off Utah's quest for a 19th straight postseason appearance and yet another 50-win season.

With two 20-year-olds on the roster, it figures that one of the Jazz's kids might not see much playing time.
     At least not early on.
     Such seems to be the case for shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, Utah's first-round draft choice, straight out of a California high school just a year ago.
     "I talked to him about that the other day. He's fine about it," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, whose club opens the regular season tonight against Milwaukee. "I told him the hardest thing he'd have to do is hear people say 'Well, why aren't you playing?'
     "You know, the expectations are high for him. Everybody knows that. They think we should put him out there. Well, he's got to learn a few things before we put him out there. The best way to learn it, if you want to learn it the right way, is to sit there and (think) 'How can I get in this game?' "

A look at what some members of the Jazz are saying as Tuesday's start of the 2001-02 season approaches:

     Watch and see. We'll show you how old we are. ? Bryon Russell

     This has been all I've known, all my family's known, for quite some time. Pulling the trigger, under any circumstances, would be very difficult. ? John Stockton, on retirement

     "However they decide to use me this year, for the time being, that's the role I'm gonna accept. (Starting) or coming off the bench really (doesn't) matter, as long as I'm used in the right way." ? John Starks