Bulls complete their drive for five

NBA Finals page

Greg Foster (front), Greg Ostertag and John Stockton step off the plane and see an estimated 20,000 fans waiting for them.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Karl Malone and John Stockton left Chicago as losers in their first NBA Finals, but thousands of cheering Utah Jazz fans saw only winners land here on Saturday.

A crowd estimated at 20,000 packed the tarmac at Salt Lake International Airport to welcome the Jazz charter jet as it landed just after noon.

The plane was escorted by a phalanx of police vehicles, their sirens wailing and lights flashing, through an arc of water sprayed from two airport fire trucks. Just moments before, Mayor Deedee Corradini had declared Saturday "Salt Lake City Utah Jazz Day."

The Jazz, making their first NBA Finals appearance after a club-record 64 wins, lost 90-86 Friday night as the Bulls took the series 4-2 and won their fifth championship.

After the plane taxied to a halt, the 6-foot chain link fence 100 feet away strained as roaring fans surged forward.

"Wow!" Jazz backup center Greg Foster mouthed, shocked by the screaming sea of Jazz caps, jerseys and pennants. He stood a second or two at the top of portable stairs, then descended to the red carpet rolled out below.

Malone greeted his wife, Kay, and their children, hugged his mother, Shirley Turner, and then mounted a platform. He thanked fans for their support -- and apologized for not adding a championship ring to his NBA Most Valuable Player award this year.

"Not only did you guys give us the support we needed, but it was the way you did it," a somber, yet obviously moved Malone said. "Hopefully, next year we'll do a better job."

The 6-foot-9 power forward looked out at the crowd for a second and added, "I love you guys."

The throng roared its approval, and kept on hollering, hooting and whistling as Malone's fellow All-Star, Stockton, took the podium.

"What a fun year it was, though we're disappointed, obviously," the NBA's career assists and steals leader said. "You've been a class act for us all year."

Gov. Mike Leavitt, who accompanied the team on its three-hour flight home, said the Jazz players had written themselves into the state's history books.

"Every 100 years or so, something happens in this state that completely redefines the way we are seen by the world," he said. "We love the Utah Jazz!"

Tearful Jazz owner Larry H. Miller praised the fans as "the best in the NBA, the best in professional sports." Utah coach Jerry Sloan agreed, adding with a rasp, "We played our hearts out and just came up a little bit short."

Jazz president and former coach Frank Layden told the crowd that while "a championship would've been a wonderful thing to have, I wouldn't trade this team for the championship team."