Flashy night for the young guys, you bet. But the Jazz's rousing 107-97 Opening Night victory had a moment to cherish for the old school, too.

Twice in the final five minutes, Derek Fisher leaped at the ball when Yao Ming tried to dribble, and both times, he knocked the ball away. Those plays didn't only help beat the Rockets - Jerry Sloan believes they may beat a few more teams down the road.

"You tell guys to dig it out, but most of our guys dig it out like they've got powder-puff hands. He went in there like he has vice grips," Sloan said. "That's the way you get the job done."

The Jazz got the job done in lots of ways on Wednesday, showing off the intensity their coach likes to preach, the exuberance of youthful energy, and exactly the sort of smart play that Fisher was acquired to provide.

"He gives us a toughness we haven't seen out of anybody on our team," Sloan said of the 32-year-old guard, who complemented Deron Williams' ball-handling with a 13-point, six-assist Utah debut. "He's a veteran player. He's the only really veteran player we have. He's been in a lot of tough situations; he doesn't panic, he just plays."

Lots of guys did, of course, considering the Jazz opened a 15-point lead in the first half, and ballooned it to 20 after halftime. Miles scored 12 points in his first career start, Mehmet Okur added 17 points, mostly by earning 11 free throws, and Williams handed out 10 assists to go with his 18 points.

Boozer seemed to try to make up for last season on one night, nailing short jumpers, helping guard Yao, leaping to block a Shane Battier three-pointer, and collecting 19 rebounds. "I can't even say enough about the game Carlos Boozer had tonight," said Rockets scoring machine Tracy McGrady, who needed 24 shots to rack up 25 points. "He had a hell of a game, and that's a hell of a team."

That's also the destination where that team was headed, however, when Houston capitalized on three straight Jazz turnovers and went on an 11-2 run to close the gap to five points with three minutes left. Then Fisher helped straighten things out. He nailed a 22-foot jumper, then found Okur open for a 22-footer of his own. After Williams made a tough fadeaway, Fisher barged into Yao's dribble, yanked the ball away for the second time, and fell to the floor with it like a linebacker pouncing on a fumble.

"It's something I've noticed over the years - when he starts bringing that ball down, it's in my neighborhood," Fisher said.

One last veteran play sealed the game. On Utah's next possession, Fisher drew a double-team from Kirk Snyder and Shane Battier at the three-point line, then whistled a pass to Williams standing alone under the basket.

The Rockets were beaten. And convinced. "The pickup of Fisher is very, very important for them," said Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy.

Fisher's victim agreed. "I don't know how much money the Utah Jazz signed him for, but it's a good contract," Yao said. OK, it was a trade, but you get his point.

"This is a great way to start the season," said Fisher, who missed the last six preseason games with a pelvis injury but didn't look rusty in the least. "This is what it's going to take for us to be successful all season. We can't depend on one or two guys to carry us."

But maybe one veteran guy can inspire them. After Fisher dove to the floor to steal the ball from Yao, Andrei Kirilenko twice dove for rebounds and Boozer scrambled to the floor to save a loose ball.

"That's how the game is winning," said Kirilenko, who, occupied by McGrady, had a quiet five-point night. "If you dive on the ball, you're going to win the game."

Simple enough.