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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Put the ball in John Stockton's hands
during the fourth quarter, and the Utah Jazz can usually pull out a
close game.
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| Stockton |
Stockton scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth period and
the Jazz survived a slow start and a 13-point effort by Karl
Malone, beating the Detroit Pistons 84-79 on Tuesday night.
"That's what great about John Stockton," said Detroit coach
George Irvine. "He plays for half or three quarters of the game,
set everybody up. Then the game gets on the line and he's got
enough (guts) to make shots."
Malone, who shot 3-of-14, hit two free throws with 12 seconds remaining and the Jazz rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final period.
Stockton had two 3-pointers during an 11-0 run, lifting Utah from a 70-61 deficit early in the fourth. He put the Jazz ahead 75-74 on a three-point play with 5:02 left, a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"I'll take them any way them come," Stockton said. "Fortunately, a couple of them fell. We actually picked up the defense, I thought, quite a bit, which was a bigger key."
Jerry Stackhouse scored 29 points for Detroit, which lost for
the fourth time in five games. Chucky Atkins scored 17, but he shot
0-for-11 in the second half after hitting 7-of-9 in the first.
The Pistons shot 25 percent in the second half, aiding Utah's
comeback.
"They just ain't got no quit in them," said Detroit forward Ben Wallace. "They just kept coming. Malone wasn't shooting well, but they found other ways."
The last time the teams played in Salt Lake City, in February
2000, the Jazz escaped with a 91-87 victory after Bryon Russell was
credited with a late 3-pointer that appeared to come after the shot
clock expired.
There was a strange finish this time, too. Malone got tangled as
he drove the lane with 15 seconds to go and referee Bennie Adams
called a double foul on the Mailman and Detroit's Wallace.
The Mailman hit both free throws, and the Pistons were down 82-77.
"The same as usual," Stackhouse said angrily. "We got hosed again in Utah. ... Ain't nothing to talk about. You all saw the game. I ain't got nothing more to say."
Donyell Marshall scored 12 and Russell had 10 for Utah, which pulled within one-half game of San Antonio for the lead in the Midwest Division.
The Jazz slowed the Pistons late, allowing only 11 points in the
fourth quarter. Detroit managed only a 3-pointer by Ben Wallace with 48 seconds to go and a meaningless bucket by Stackhouse in the closing seconds.
"Everybody had a hand in the defense we played down the stretch," Malone said. "They turned the ball over and we were able to get out on the break, but I think down the stretch our defense really came through. We needed it."
Utah is in a race for playoff positioning in the Western
Conference and didn't need this kind of game, not with Portland
coming to visit on Thursday. But the win is all that counts, and
the Jazz can thank their late defense for that.
"It was a good one to win," Malone said.
The Pistons shot 4-of-27 in the final period and went scoreless
for a span of 4:31 in the last five minutes.
Game notes
Just before tipoff, Jazz owner Larry Miller gave coach
Jerry Sloan an engraved crystal bowl to commemorate Sloan's 1,000th
game with the franchise. He reached that milestone Sunday in a
victory over the Clippers. ... Stockton is five games from tying
Moses Malone (1,329) for third place on the NBA's career list. ...
Karl Malone went 7-of-8 from the foul line. He is 11 free throws from passing Moses Malone (8,531) to become the NBA's career leader.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 110
Cleveland 75
New Jersey 104
Vancouver 90
Toronto 102
Indiana 81
Orlando 103
Chicago 95
Portland 96
Dallas 88
Phoenix 105
Washington 91
Utah 84
Detroit 79
LA Clippers 88
Philadelphia 77
Sacramento 125
Houston 109
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