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Memphis, Tenn. • Technically, the Jazz's season is not over. Statistically, Utah's hopes for making the playoffs are still alive. But a team that began the year playing some of the toughest and most resilient basketball in the NBA was left barely breathing Monday night after being beaten down 103-85 by the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Center.

Paul Millsap topped Utah with 15 points, while Zach Randolph's 19 points and 13 rebounds led a Memphis squad that had seven players hit double figures in scoring

The matchup held major Western Conference postseason implications for both teams. The Grizzlies — stronger, bigger, deeper and, in many ways, simply better — moved forward. The Jazz again fell backward, continuing a dark slide that began more than two months ago when Jerry Sloan was still the coach and All-Star guard Deron Williams was still in uniform.

A Utah team, now 36-35, that entered a crucial three-game road trip touting new life and saying all the right things faced its most important test of the season thus far against the Grizzlies, now 39-32.

The Jazz failed.

Utah started poorly, flickered for a while, then completely fell apart midway through the fourth quarter, as Memphis' lead swelled to 20 points and mounting frustration that had run through the veins of multiple Jazz players for weeks finally peaked. Defensive assignments were blown, strategies were openly discussed mid-game, and as key Utah members helplessly sat on the bench, the Grizzlies ripped away.

"I think it was just the weight of the game," Jazz forward C.J. Miles said. "Everybody knew, and the frustration just came out a little bit. We're a tight-knit group of guys that used to get along pretty well. You've never seen anything like that with us."

While everyone from Utah coach Tyrone Corbin to rookie Gordon Hayward and veteran Raja Bell used their own unique words to explain where Utah stands with just 11 regular-season games to go and what exactly has gone wrong this year, a feisty no-comment from center Al Jefferson said it all.

Jefferson joined the Jazz during the offseason as the promising replacement for Carlos Boozer. Williams vowed to make Jefferson an All-Star, and Big Al has often put up tremendous numbers, at times carrying his new team since D-Will was dealt. But after shooting just 7 of 23 during an important game Monday against Houston, and then recording only two first-half points and four overall rebounds in an even more important contest versus the Grizzlies, the normally upbeat Jefferson was a bleak picture of disappointment.

He has not made the playoffs since 2005. And he joined the Jazz expecting his life to change.

"I ain't talking today, man," Jefferson said. "I ain't got [crap] to say."

Then he walked away.

Others Utah players remained. Each balanced clear frustration with the knowledge that an already-rough Jazz season is not going to get any easier.

With the loss, Utah fell three games behind eighth-place Memphis with just 11 regular-season contests to go. The Jazz now hold sole possession of 11th place, trailing the Grizzlies, Houston and Phoenix, with all three teams holding tiebreakers over Utah.

The Jazz end a road trip that has started 0-2 with a contest Wednesday against Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, opponents such as the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio, Dallas, Denver and Portland — all Western Conference playoff teams if the season ended today — still remain.

Utah's 2010-11 campaign is officially on the brink.

"It's frustrating. Two big [losses] in a row," Hayward said. "Every game from here out is huge. Not only is this a big one because [Memphis] is right there with us, but we've got to win every game we can from here on out."

Corbin tried to pull the Jazz through Monday, constantly yelling "Come on. Come on. Let's go, blue!"

The turnaround he desired never arrived.

Utah began the season shooting for the Western Conference title. Now, the Jazz are again just one game above .500, edging closer to the uncertainty that comes with rebuilding; farther away from consistency and another journey to the postseason.

"They seemed like a team that just wanted it more than we did," Bell said.