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A defeated Al Jefferson slowly walked off the hardwood. He moved slower as he inched toward the Jazz's locker room, untucking his shirt and letting his hands drop by his waist while his eyes caught cold concrete.

It was over.

The lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. The series. His year.

Gone in four games. Cruelly finished minutes after Utah finally found its way. Erased by San Antonio's 87-81 Game 4 victory on Monday at EnergySolutions Arena before a sellout crowd of 19,911.

Down 81-60 with 6 minutes and 17 seconds to go, the Jazz suddenly discovered the fight they'd been missing ever since Game 1 began, rolling off a thrilling 19-2 run and pulling within 83-79 with 49.4 remaining.

Any hope Utah had of sending the series back to San Antonio ended with a Tony Parker steal and ensuing Manu Ginobili fast-break layup, though, and the Spurs advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs with a clean, powerful 4-0 sweep.

"It's a learning experience. We went down fighting. We fought all the way to the end," said Jefferson, who came alive for a game-high 26 points on 13-of-19 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds after being pushed around by San Antonio's defense during Games 1-3.

"We learned a lot from this series. We played against a great team," Jefferson said. "[I'll] just go home and watch all the playoffs and learn and watch and see what it takes to get to the next level."

While coach Tyrone Corbin, Paul Millsap and Jefferson spent part of their postgame interviews discussing their pride for a Utah team that finished the regular season 36-30 and proved doubters wrong by qualifying for the No. 8 seed, all three acknowledged they were beaten down and humbled by a No. 1 Spurs squad Corbin believes might be on its way to a fifth NBA title.

"I'm very proud of the effort [we] put in all year and the way these guys stayed together," Corbin said. "The way they've grown together. The way they pushed each other. … That's what it's going to take going forward. And we have to learn the lessons this year — understand we have to continue to work."

With the loss, Utah dropped its eighth consecutive playoff game. The Jazz fell 4-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers during the second round in 2010.

Utah also suffered only the second first-round sweep in the 38-year history of the franchise, following a 3-0 upset of the No. 2 Jazz by No. 7 Golden State in 1989. The loss set up the best years of a golden Utah era dominated by John Stockton, Karl Malone and Jerry Sloan.

Jefferson's voice broke midsentence as he answered a question. Millsap acknowledged he was off all series. Gordon Hayward said he was severely disappointed in a playoff run that saw the second-year guard shoot just 18.1 percent (6 of 33) from the floor. But the Jazz's postgame interviews also were filled with optimistic looks ahead at 2012-13.

Utah survived a 66-game lockout season by mixing proven veterans and castoffs with four players 22 or younger. Alec Burks and Enes Kanter — 2011 lottery picks — played key minutes against the Spurs. Twenty-year-old power forward Derrick Favors started the elimination game, averaged 11.7 points and 9.5 rebounds during the series, recorded double-doubles in Games 3 and 4, and was Utah's most consistent player against one of the premier teams in the NBA.

The Jazz's young core has a bright future. And when Utah threatened late in the fourth quarter Monday — recovering the resiliency the Jazz had shown all season — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was reminded about why he modeled small-market San Antonio after Utah 15 seasons ago.

"The Utah Jazz showed you the kind of class and the kind of organization they are. Down 3-0 … and some people probably thought it was over … and they just ran it right to us and stuck it to us, because they don't quit," Popovich said. "They are just a class team and a class organization. Ty has done a great job of keeping that going."

Briefly

Jazz point guard Devin Harris (left ankle) exited the game with 2:57 left in the third quarter to have his ankle retaped. He was able to return. … The Spurs outscored Utah 200-142 in the paint during the series. … Jazz guard Raja Bell was active but didn't take the court in the playoffs. … Utah shot just 38.2 percent from the field and 20 percent behind the 3-point line during the series.

bsmith@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribjazz facebook.com/tribjazz —

Storylines Spurs complete sweep

R In short • The Jazz fell 87-81 to the Spurs in Game 4 on Monday and were swept 4-0 in the series.

Key stat • Utah was 0 of 13 behind the 3-point line Monday and shot just 9 of 45 during the series.

Key moment • After the Jazz pulled within 83-79 with 49.4 to go, the Spurs' Tony Parker stole a loose ball and set up Manu Ginobili for a fast-break layup.