Jazz know the road ahead is going to be tough one News Utah Jazz

TORONTO ? They have won 10 in a row, a hot streak nearly a month old, and can notch No. 11 today. That would mark their longest run of success since they won 11 straight in April of the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season. Whoop-de-do. So might suggest Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who knows that now ?

with a run featuring 12-of-17 at home a thing of the past ? the real trial awaits. The 39-23 Jazz play their next five straight games on the road, beginning with today's contest at Toronto and continuing with stops Tuesday at Indiana, Wednesday at Atlanta, Saturday at Miami and Sunday, March 15, at at Orlando. The last three of those are against teams currently holding an Eastern Conference playoff position, and the one Tuesday is against a Pacers club hoping to eventually do the same. Moreover, seven of their next nine games are away from EnergySolutions Arena, where they're 28-6 this season. So are 13-of-20 to end the regular season, arguably making this trip-opener against the struggling Raptors more the mark of a start to the stretch run than the mere continuation of a marathon winning streak. No wonder Sloan, whose Western Conference playoff-contending team has a less-than-impressive road record of 11-17 so far this season, seems to be focused on focus. "We'll do everything we can to hopefully get our minds on winning Basketball games," he said after Utah beat Northwest Division-rival Denver late Friday night ? their seventh home victory in as many games against Northwest opponents this season. "Sometimes, there are distractions on the road," the Jazz coach added. "(But) if you look and see what's at stake in every game we play, you'd think everybody would be ready to play." Or so Sloan, whose club's current streak started with a Feb. 11 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, hopes. "We've talked about it," he said. "But talking won't get it done. You can talk all you want. But it's up to the players to prepare themselves to do the things that give us a chance to win. "And that's not just go out and take shots for myself and not defend on the other end of the floor," Sloan added. "You have to be able to defend to win on the road." The Jazz certainly have been doing their fair share of just that at home, where they are 23-1 this season when yielding 99 or fewer points. That may be why they are so confident heading East, where the combination of jumping two times and one daylight savings time adjustment has play starting today at what the clock will say is 12:30 p.m. in Toronto and 10:30 a.m. in Utah ? but will feel, for Jazz players, more like 9:30 in the morning. "One of the things that we've been talking about is that we believe in each other," power forward Carlos Boozer said after the victory over the Nuggets. "You can hear the excitement in the back of the (locker) room. "We're so excited at the way we're playing right now.... It's great to win 10 in a row," he added. "(Now) we've got to bottle this up and take it on the road with us. These next five games are a huge test for our team." E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com