So hopes coach Jerry Sloan, whose still injury-hampered club responded from a lopsided loss Friday at San Antonio with a big win -- albeit only after quite a bit of coaxing by Sloan, and against a team that starts three rookies -- Saturday night in Memphis.

"Hopefully they learned something -- learned how to compete on the road," Sloan said. "Because Basketball's Basketball. If you like to play, you'd compete right here in the hallway. I've always believed that."

And always will.

The 9-5 Jazz are 6-0 so far this season at EnergySolutions Arena, where after facing the Bulls tonight they'll play Memphis again on Wednesday night, Sacramento on Friday night and New Jersey on Saturday night.

But even after beating the Grizzlies they're still only 3-5 away from home, prompting everyone and anyone in the Jazz locker room to try to figure out the perplexing hows and whys of the decidedly incongruent nature of it all.

"A good question," veteran forward Matt Harpring said when asked how the Jazz managed to muster home-like energy in Memphis that has been conspicuously absent in so many other road outings.

"You know," he added, "we have a young team, and sometimes you have to learn how to play on the road. It's different than playing at home. At home, you have the fans behind you to get the energy. On the road, you've got to manufacture energy."

Now that they're back in the comfy confines, Utah-style, the Jazz will enjoy a leg up they don't have elsewhere.

"You can attribute it to our fan support," said starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer, who scored a season-high 21 points in Memphis. "We just sometimes don't have the energy when teams make runs at home. We miss a couple shots, we get down behind.

"If you pay attention to the games," he added, "there have been games this year at home when we're down early. We've had to fight back in the fourth quarter."

Much like they had to fight back from an early seven-point deficit in Memphis.

The Jazz did it there with yet another makeshift lineup, as All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer (quadriceps tendon sprain/bruised kneecap), starting point guard Deron Williams (ankle sprain), backup shooting guard Kyle Korver (re-sprained shooting wrist) and reserve big man Jarron Collins (bruised elbow) all were out.

Ronnie Price started at the point, as he has whenever Williams has been out this season, backup Paul Millsap opened for the first time this season in Boozer's spot and sparingly used reserve Morris Almond got rare minutes (and responded with 11 points) in Korver's place.

They'll have to do much the same tonight, as Boozer, Korver and Collins all are expected to be out again.

So is Williams, who has missed all but two games since spraining the ankle during an Oct. 18 preseason game at Chicago, though the Jazz officially continue to list him as "doubtful."

"You can't ever panic," Brewer said. "You've got to find a way to win with the guys you have.

"We haven't played any games this year with our original lineup (Williams, Brewer, C.J. Miles at small forward, Boozer and Mehmet Okur at center), (but) we started off 5-0," he added with reference to a stretch in which the Jazz opened with four-of-five games at home. "We found a way to win. We've got to get back to that. We've got to defend, we've got execute our offense and do the things that started that streak early." E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com