Salt Lake City ? Even winning his 800th game with the Utah Jazz failed to mellow Jerry Sloan.

“We would really like to play in a tuxedo where nobody could touch us,” Sloan said after the Jazz beat the woeful Atlanta Hawks, 92-71, Saturday night. “But, of course, the other teams come out and smack you upside the head to see if you have any toughness.”

Sloan returned to the bench after missing Utah’s last two games to be with his wife, Bobbye, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Sloan’s career record improved to 894-538 as the Jazz took control in the third quarter and coasted to their fourth straight win at home. But Sloan still was not satisfied watching the youngest team he’s ever coached.

“Some of these young guys got to learn that to be good they’ve got to work. They need to learn how to compete, learn how to stay focused so they have a chance to be good and get better,” Sloan said.

Hired in 1988 by the Jazz, Sloan is the longest-tenured head coach with the same team in professional sports. He has the sixth-best winning percentage in NBA history (62.7 percent).

“Coach was on us from the get-go. When you have a coach like Jerry Sloan, he won’t let you have a letdown,” said DeShawn Stevenson, who went 8-for-11 and led Utah with 17 points.

Carlos Arroyo scored 14 points and Andrei Kirilenko and Aleksandar Pavlovic each added 12 as Utah improved to 15-3 at home.

“Utah is a good team: well-coached, very disciplined and play the same way every time,” said Jason Terry, who scored nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.

The Hawks stayed close for a half, but Stevenson made four jumpers and had a dunk in a 15-6 run that gave Utah a 64-45 lead with 5:24 left in the third quarter.

“I guess today was my day because I kept getting the ball and I kept shooting,” Stevenson said.

Knicks 94, Bucks 88

New York — New York snapped its four-game losing streak and might have saved coach Don Chaney’s job by shutting out Milwaukee in the final three minutes. Kurt Thomas had a season-high 28 points and 16 rebounds, Allan Houston scored 26, Stephon Marbury had 14 points and 11 assists and Penny Hardaway added 14 points off the bench.

New York snapped Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak and beat the Bucks for the first time in three tries this season.

Two nights after the crowd at Madison Square Garden chanted “Fire Chaney” several times during a blowout loss to Houston, the fans returned to the usual practice of cheering for their team. Their loudest chant was “Dee-fense,” and the Knicks listened down the stretch.

Damon Jones dunked on a fast break to tie the game at 80 with 6:65 remaining before Toni Kukoc — who already had committed three turnovers in the quarter — missed consecutive long jumpers.

T’wolves 83, Heat 77

Minneapolis — Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 17 rebounds for Minnesota. Sam Cassell added 18 points for the Timberwolves, who have won eight straight games at home and 15 of their last 18 overall.

Brian Grant had 17 points and nine rebounds and Lamar Odom chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who dropped to 4-16 on the road and 1-9 on the road against the West. Their next four games (Sacramento, Utah, L.A. Clippers and Denver) are on the road against Western Conference teams.

Wizards 94, 76ers 87

Washington — Washington Wizards guard Larry Hughes scored a season-high 43 points, leading the NBA’s second-worst team to a victory over Philadelphia.

The Wizards broke a four-game losing streak that included a Friday night road loss to Orlando, the league’s worst team. Hughes scored 28 points in the first half, shouldering the load by necessity after the pregame news that Gilbert Arenas would be sidelined three to six weeks after re-aggravating an abdominal injury.

Warriors 113, Sonics 110, OT

Oakland, Calif. — Cliff Robinson scored five straight points in overtime and made a career-best six three-pointers on the way to a season-high 28 points, and Golden State ended a season-long seven-game losing streak with a victory over Seattle.

Spurs 89, Pacers 88, OT

San Antonio — Hedo Turkoglu forced overtime with a three-pointer, then made two baskets in the extra period to lead San Antonio past Indiana. Turkoglu, who finished with 15 points, missed a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in overtime and a long rebound came out to the Pacers’ Ron Artest.

Artest, who scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, started to take the ball upcourt, but then tried to call a timeout as time expired.

Bulls 89, Hornets 84

Chicago — Jamal Crawford scored 20 points, Eddy Curry added 19 and Chicago defeated New Orleans despite almost squandering a 22-point lead. Hornets’ guard Baron Davis scored 29 points, 14 in the fourth quarter.