|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) – Karl Malone, at age 37, keeps banging inside,
finding his way to the basket, scrapping for loose balls, collaring
rebounds and hitting his jumper.
|  | | Karl Malone, right, is fouled by Steve Goodrich. |
Some nights it doesn't look as if he has slowed down one bit.
"Not at all," said Chicago's Elton Brand after Malone scored
21 of his 32 points in the second half Friday night to power the
Jazz to a 94-83 victory.
"He is one of the best who ever did it," said Brand. "It was
a tough assignment tonight."
Malone shot 13-for-22 from the field and had 10 rebounds and six
assists. Utah, with the fourth best record in the West, put the
game away with a 19-9 run in the final 5:55.
"I've heard for nine solid years that Karl and John Stockton
are getting old. That's OK, I don't have a problem with it. It's
always kind of funny," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said.
"I don't think anyone realizes how much they like playing
basketball. You have to like it to keep playing without a
championship."
Malone was coming off a sub-par 13-point game Thursday night in
Milwaukee, but his aging legs were strong enough in the latter
stages one night later against a much weaker team.
"I'm 37. Coach tells me I'm 38 but I say I'm still 37," Malone
said. "Tonight, I thought I might get a token blow from the coach
in the fourth quarter. He looked at me and kind of asked if I was
OK.
"That was with something like 1:05 left to play. I don't know
what he expected me to say. I just kept on playing."
Danny Manning scored 16 points, including seven in the closing
run.
Ron Artest led Chicago with 27 points. Brand, the Bulls' leading
scorer, managed just 10 on 5-for-17 shooting.
Malone had 12 points in the third quarter and the Jazz forged a
69-65 lead. Artest's jumper and Brand's basket, after he picked up
a loose ball, cut Utah's lead to 75-74 with 5:38 to go.
But Manning got free three times for baskets underneath, and
Malone had a jumper, two nice passes and a key offensive rebound
that led to a layup by John Stockton as the Jazz pulled away and
beat the Bulls for the seventh straight time in the regular season.
Utah shot 55 percent.
Game notes
Sloan, whose teams were burned twice in the NBA Finals by
the Bulls and Michael Jordan, had this view of a potential Jordan
comeback: "If a guy loves to play, then play," Sloan said. "He
should have kept playing after he beat us." Jordan's final shot of
his second stint with the Bulls was a last-second jumper that beat
the Jazz in the clinching Game 6 in 1998. ... Sloan says new NBA
rules that will allow zone defenses next season will effectively
eliminate the pick-and-roll from the pro game. That's been the
Jazz's staple for years with Stockton and Malone. ... Brad Miller
was a late scratch for the Bulls with a sore knee. Jamal Crawford
was out with a hyperextended left knee. ... John Starks, who played
in four games with the Bulls last season and wanted to leave so
badly he offered to forfeit his salary if he could join a playoff
team, returned to the United Center and was booed every time he
touched the ball. He hit two key jumpers in the closing minutes.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Utah Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 113
Orlando 110
Cleveland 97
New Jersey 91
New York 101
Atlanta 65
Indiana 113
Boston 108
Toronto 94
Miami 82
Utah 94
Chicago 83
Dallas 101
Sacramento 97
Denver 108
Golden State 92
Phoenix 109
Seattle 100
Houston 109
Portland 103
LA Clippers 111
Minnesota 105
|
