The Jazz's pre-Christmas trip started appropriately enough Saturday night at the Alamodome.
 
The Spurs toyed with them.
 
Tim Duncan scored 18 of his 26 points in the first quarter and San Antonio's defense limited Utah to 36-percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers, sparking the Spurs to a 100-80 victory.
 
San Antonio wasn't laughing all the way in this one.
 
Just most of the way.
 
The Spurs opened a 58-30 lead late in the first half, watched the Karl Malone-led Jazz come within five midway through the third quarter and pulled away again to register their sixth straight victory over Utah, covering parts of three seasons.
 
The average margin: 11 points.
 
Another fact: Against the top six teams in the Western Conference, Utah is 1-6.