Unfortunately for the Jazz, who succumbed to the pressure in the final minute against the more patient and poised Spurs, the result was also patented Utah as of late, too.

After nearly rallying from a double-digit deficit, the more-youthful Jazz couldn't quite catch up to the well-seasoned Spurs and suffered their fourth consecutive loss in a row.

The 106-100 setback to the Southwest Division-leading Spurs (30-14) was also the second loss in a row for slumping Utah (25-21) at EnergySolutions Arena.

"A loss is a loss and they're starting to add up," said Jazz point guard Deron Williams. "We're just getting farther and farther down the totem pole, so we just need to win instead of losing."

Late in the game, it looked like the Jazz might do just that.

C.J. Miles, who played a career-high 42 minutes, stole the ball and fed Paul Millsap for a fast-break layup to cut the Spurs lead -- which had been as big as 11 points in the third quarter -- to just one point with under a minute and half remaining.

And that, despite the usual huge outings from Tim Duncan (24 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) and Tony Parker (24 points), and an unexpected season-high 20 points and 3-point-shooting clinic by center Matt Bonner, who hit his first six threes.

"We still had a chance to get back into the ball game," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "We got down 10 points and we fought back from that. But that's a deep hole in games like this."

One point turned out to be a deep hole, considering Spurs' sixth-man Manu Ginobili saved his best for last.

Ginobili cut for a twisting off-balance layup with 1:08 remaining, and then sank eight free throws in the final 44.6 seconds to notch 10 of his 13 points in the clutch. Four foul swishes came after Mehmet Okur cut the lead back down to two with 24.4 seconds to go.

"We couldn't find a way to stop them in the end," Okur said. "They made some tough shots and we missed. It was a tough game. I thought we played hard for the most part. It was a winnable ballgame for us."

That was the consensus sentiment by the Jazz. They felt good about battling, scraping and clawing their way back into the contest after the Spurs spurted to a big lead with a 10-0 run in the beginning of the third quarter.

But they were disappointed with the not-so-grand finale.

"It's not bittersweet, it's bitter," Williams said. "It's our fourth loss in a row."

Still, Sloan credited his players, who went without Andrei Kirilenko for the fourth straight game and Carlos Boozer for the 34th consecutive night because of injuries, for playing "extremely hard."

All five starters even ended up with double-figure scoring, with Ronnie Brewer leading the way with 23 points and Okur adding 22 points and a season-high 17 rebounds.

It just wasn't quite enough down the stretch against the savvy Spurs, who took advantage of a Brewer turnover and two missed Jazz treys in the last minute.

"I was proud of how we fought," said Williams, who had his 19th double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. "I didn't think we gave up. We hung in there."

And that's precisely what they plan on doing despite this rough stretch.

"It's tough, but I don't think it's time to panic right now," Okur said. "I think we've got to work harder and play harder and try to win."

"Every team goes through this stuff," Harping added. "We'll get through it." E-mail: jody@desnews.com