Kirilenko resurfaces in time to keep Utah's hope alive

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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The signs were everywhere, like a series of mirages. Perhaps they were not visible to the outsider, but for Jazz fans they were as clear to see as the Wasatch Mountains.

Missing: One Small Forward. Answers to the name Andrei or AK-47. Likely to be found somewhere playing tenacious defense, blocking shots and creating offense around the rim. If found, please return to the Utah Jazz starting lineup.

Good news: He's back.

The Andrei Kirilenko who took the floor at EnergySolutions Arena on Thursday night was not the same Kirilenko who played sparingly (and ineffectively) through the first five games of the series. This was not the same Kirilenko who was reduced to tears after a subpar performance in Game 1.

This Kirilenko was active. This Kirilenko scored (14 points), rebounded (5) and passed (4 assists) in a way that reminded the fans of the player who has carved out a niche for himself in eight seasons in Salt Lake. He had what could be perhaps the signature play of the series when he swatted away a Yao Ming hook shot in the fourth quarter. That's the 7-6 Yao Ming.

"He has become a huge factor in this series," admits Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. He's right. Through the first four games of the series, Kirilenko averaged a mere 1.8 points and 2.8 rebounds, numbers barely worthy of a mention in Houston's scouting report. In Game 5, he increased that production to eight and four. And in Game 6, well, let's just say he popped right out of his shell. He has become the X-factor in a series that has so far been dominated by the home team.

"AK fought like crazy tonight," says Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, the man who up until a few days ago looked to be replacing the doghouse Greg Ostertag once occupied with a custom made one for his Russian forward. "He worked hard, and we needed that."

Kirilenko's work ethic has been Sloan's biggest beef with him since opening night. As the season wore on Kirilenko, a 2004 All-Star, grew increasingly frustrated by his limited role in the offense, believing that he couldn't be effective as a jump shooter and preferred more post opportunities. Couple that with the hard-nosed Sloan's belief that Kirilenko, a three-time All-Defensive team selection, was giving less than a maximum effort on the defensive end, and you have a one fractured relationship that Sloan described as something "I've never experienced before." A midseason clear-the-air meeting did anything but, and Kirilenko finished the season averaging a career low 8.3 points.

But in this series, Kirilenko seems to have gotten under the skin of the one player he was brought in to stop: Tracy McGrady. While McGrady scored a team-high 26 points, he did it on woeful (8-23) shooting and seemed to grow weary of Kirilenko's pressure defense.

"He's reaching," says McGrady. "You saw it. It's amazing how in the first half he reached and I was getting calls. He reached in the first half, foul. In the fourth quarter he reached, no call."

Is McGrady getting frustrated? Probably. The Jazz have sent wave after wave of defenders at McGrady this series with each offering a different tool set. As effective as McGrady was finding open teammates in Game 5 (when he finished with 16 assists) he was equally as ineffective in Game 6, totaling just three.

"I don't know that we're that good defensively," says Sloan. "He still scored 26 points."

That's true, Jerry, but if McGrady can't figure out how to shake Kirilenko and Co. in time for Saturday's Game 7 -- in what is arguably the biggest game of his career -- he's headed for another early vacation. And the Jazz will be headed for the second round.