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Saturday, Dec. 18 7:30pm ET
Malone keys 11-0 run by Jazz | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) -- Karl Malone was determined not to have two bad nights in a row. And, the NBA's fourth-leading scorer didn't. Malone scored 33 points, including the go-ahead layup in the closing minutes, keying an 11-0 run by Utah in the Jazz's 106-96 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night. Malone was coming off a 16-point effort in Friday night's 89-74 loss at Indiana in which he made only 6-of-22 shots from the field and was 4-of-8 at the free throw line. "I didn't have a good game last night, so I tried to come back tonight," said the 6-foot-9 Malone. The 36-year-old perennial All-Star did just that. He made 14 of 26 shots from the field, made 5-of-6 free throws, grabbed seven rebounds, had five assists and blocked three shots. "You can always allow yourself the excuse that you're tired and you're old, but you still have to play the game," said Malone. Trailing 91-90, Malone scored his driving lay-in with 4:30 left to put Utah ahead to stay. The Jazz built the margin to 101-91 as the Hawks went scoreless for nearly three minutes. "It's always interesting to see how you bounce back after a tough loss when you didn't play well," said Malone. "Down the stretch, I think we did every single thing to win this game." Jim Jackson ended the Atlanta drought with a 3-point play with 1:54 left, but it wasn't nearly enough. "We were starting to become a good team," said Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens, referring to the Hawks after they won five in a row and reached .500 at 9-9. Since then, Atlanta has lost four of five and fallen to 10-13. "We were coming. We were getting there. And then, all of a sudden, we slipped," he said. "We keep making the same mistakes over and over," said Wilkens, referring to turnovers that have hurt the Hawks, 99 in the last four games, including three crucial ones during the 11-0 Jazz run that were converted into six points. "We're not there as a team yet, I'll tell you that," he said. Byron Russell added 19 points for the Jazz, 10 in the final period as Utah won for the eighth time in nine games. Isaiah Rider led Atlanta with 24 points. Jackson added 22 and Dikembe Mutombo had 21 for the Hawks. After Malone gave Utah the lead for good, Olden Polynice added a rebound basket, John Stockton made a technical foul, Malone knocked in a jumper before buckets by Russell and Quincy Lewis completed the 11-point spurt and 101-91 lead with 2:10 left. The Hawks, who led 26-25 after one period, took their biggest lead of the opening half at 37-27 on a 11-2 run as Mutombo contributed five of his team-high 13 first-half points. Malone scored 15 in the opening half to keep the Jazz close, including the last five points to cut Atlanta's lead to 50-45 at intermission.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Utah Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse RECAPS Washington 95 New York 83
Utah 106
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