Ever since the Jazz were reported to be under consideration to make a preseason trip to Europe, Andrei Kirilenko expressed hope that London would be one of the destinations.
Kirilenko will get his wish, with a source confirming Tuesday that the Jazz will play the Chicago Bulls in an Oct. 6 preseason game at the O2 Arena in London. NBA commissioner David Stern is expected to make the announcement this morning. The Jazz are expecting to play a second game in Berlin or Madrid, but those plans have yet to be finalized and won't be announced in connection with the London game.
"I'm definitely in for any game in Europe," said Kirilenko, who calls London one of his favorite cities. "I'm ready to go. It's close to my home country. I definitely will have some extra fans."
"I've heard since my rookie year we were supposed to be going overseas," Deron Williams added, "so it's definitely good to go over there."
The Jazz don't figure to be the main draw in London, with Bulls forward Luol Deng a British citizen and member of the national team. But it will be an unquestioned opportunity for the small-market Jazz to gain international exposure.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan previously took his team to Japan in 1990 for two games to open the regular season. He has described that as one of the greatest challenges of his coaching career, but was unconcerned about the trip to Europe.
"Everybody else does it," Sloan said, adding, "Whatever the league puts out there, we don't have any problem with it."
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Prime-time players
The Jazz went into Tuesday's TNT-televised game against Houston with a perfect 5-0 record on national television this season. For whatever reason, Sloan has suggested his players get up more for such games than others.
He called it a "natural reaction" to play better on national television, but added, "We've always tried to encourage people to try to play that way all the time."
"We like these games," Williams said. "We've had a little bit [fewer] than we have in the past, the last couple of years, so we like to make the most out of them."
Ronnie Brewer said the Jazz come out with more energy, building anticipation all day for the late 8:30 p.m., start. The Jazz will play tonight in Phoenix on ESPN, with three more nationally televised games after that.
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Briefly
Before tipoff, Williams and Carlos Boozer were presented with rings for playing on the U.S.'s gold-medal winning Olympic team last summer. ... Kyle Korver didn't realize until he woke up Tuesday that his old teammates in Philadelphia had beaten Portland in overtime Monday, giving the Jazz a boost in the Northwest Division race. The Jazz also were helped by Phoenix's victory over Denver.
rsiler@sltrib.com Jazz at Suns
At US Airways Center, Phoenix
Tipoff ? 8:30 p.m.
TV ? KJZZ, ESPN
Radio ? 1320 AM, 98.7 FM
Last meeting ? Suns, 106-104 (Dec. 6)
Line ? Suns by 2
About the Jazz ? They have won only 14 of 34 road games this season and are 3-13 in the second game of back-to-back sets. ... They lost in similar circumstances at Phoenix in December, playing a late ESPN-televised game against Toronto.
About the Suns ? After beating Denver 118-115 on Monday, Phoenix is riding a five-game winning streak and has closed within three games of Dallas for the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. ... Amare Stoudemire is out after undergoing eye surgery and Leandro Barbosa will miss 1 to 3 weeks with a bone bruise in his left tibia. ... Shaquille O'Neal recently passed Moses Malone for fifth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
