"We had our head buried as we tried to change ends," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "You can't bury your head in the floor if there's a guy like that behind you. You've got to open up and find him, see where he's going to be, the way he can shoot the ball."

The Jazz left Murphy open all the first half -- "We just had some boneheaded plays," Deron Williams said -- with their big men running back to the paint on defense, rather than waiting for Murphy at the three-point arc.

"As a big man, you're programmed to protect the paint because the guards are going to protect the three-point line," Carlos Boozer said. "In this game, one of their big guys was going right to the three-point line like a guard, so we just had to change it up at halftime."

Murphy scored only two points in the second half, coming on a pair of free throws. He missed the only two shots he attempted in the second half and missed everything on the one three-pointer he launched.

The first half was a different story, with Murphy coming one three-pointer away from becoming the seventh player in NBA history to hit eight three-pointers in one half.

Tim Thomas, Michael Redd, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and J.R. Smith all have done so in their careers, with Smith the last in a Feb. 22, 2008 game. Instead, Murphy had to settle for a Pacers record.

"I really felt good the first half and I felt pretty hot," said Murphy, who finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. "But they were leaving me open, almost asking me to take a three-point shot."

rsiler@sltrib.com