|
|
Karl Malone got knocked around pretty good in his first game against the team he played with for 18 seasons.
Nevertheless, he managed a satisfied smile afterward.
``The most important thing is we won this game,'' Malone said after getting 19 points and 13 rebounds to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 91-84 Sunday night for their eighth straight victory.
Playing his ninth game since being sidelined nearly three months with a torn knee ligament -- the first serious injury of his 19-year NBA career -- Malone shot 5-of-10 and 9-of-12 from the foul line while playing 34 minutes.
He was on the floor at the end despite banging the knee he injured in December; getting elbowed in his shooting hand, and getting whacked in the head.
X-rays taken on his right hand were negative, but Malone still wasn't convinced he was OK.
ADVERTISEMENT
``My knee was negative, too,'' he said. ``We'll wait and see tomorrow.''
The reference was to the initial diagnosis that his knee injury wasn't expected to keep him sidelined for a lengthy period of time.
Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 34 points in the last two minutes; Gary Payton added 17 points, and Shaquille O'Neal had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers (50-23), who have an NBA-best 19-4 record since the All-Star break and trail Western Conference-leading Sacramento by two games with nine remaining.
The Lakers reached 50 wins for the eighth straight season not counting 1998-99 campaign, shortened to 50 games because of labor problems.
Raja Bell scored 16 of his career-high 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Jazz (38-36), who lost for just the third time in 10 games and fell into a virtual tie with Portland for the eighth and final playoff berth in the West -- a half-game ahead of Denver.
Raul Lopez was the only other Utah player in double figures with 12 points. Andrei Kirilenko had 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who outrebounded the Lakers 46-44.
After trailing by 16 points, the Jazz outscored the Lakers 26-8 to finish the third quarter and start the fourth to give them a 79-77 lead with 4:29 remaining.
AP - Mar 29, 12:44 am EST
More Photos
The Lakers responded by going on a 14-5 run to finish the game. Payton made
four free throws to put Los Angeles ahead for good before Bryant scored his
team's final 10 points -- eight from the foul line.
``They made a run. We got it in our mind we wanted to outscore them instead of trying to stop them,'' Malone said. ``It's the same old story. When we move the basketball, we're fine. When we don't move the basketball, we're an average team. If we play defense, we're a very good team.''
About playing against the Jazz, Malone said: ``It was kind of bittersweet. They're friends -- friends for life.''
Malone, the NBA's second-leading career scorer, missed the Lakers' first game against Utah because of suspension and the last two due to a knee injury that caused him to miss 39 games. The Lakers are 27-6 when he's played.
Malone, who signed a free agent contract with the Lakers last summer, sat out only 10 games during his 18 seasons with the Jazz -- six because of injury and four due to suspension.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said the game ``was like a mud wrestling contest where there's a lot of bodies going around and a lot of fouling.''
Bryant, who shot just 8-of-23 but went 17-of-21 from the foul line, used the words ``ugly'' and ``disgusting'' to describe the game.
``They are a tough team to put away,'' Bryant said. ``They play very physical -- they foul every play. That's part of their game. You've got to respect it.''
Jerry Sloan, in his 16th season as Utah's coach, spoke fondly of Malone.
``We have all the respect in the world for Karl, and we wish him the best of luck whatever he does because of what he gave us for the time that he was with us,'' said Sloan, who celebrated his 62nd birthday Sunday. ``I'm happy for him to have a chance to be on a great team.''
Malone said he cared about Sloan ``twice as much as a person as I do as a coach.''
Utah's Greg Ostertag said it felt strange to play against his former teammate.
``But at the same time, I never looked at him tonight as anything other thanan opponent,'' Ostertag said. ``He played like Karl Malone tonight.''
Notes
The Lakers have won their last seven games against the Jazz at Staples Center. ... Malone said he believes Sloan deserves to win his first NBA coach of the year award. Sloan has never been honored in that regard despite ranking eighth on the NBA's all-time win list with 913 victories. ... Bryant's streak of consecutive made free throws ended at 34 when he missed his first attempt. ... Payton became the sixth player in NBA history to record 8,000 career assists when he got his second of the game in the third quarter. ... The Lakers won the game at the foul line, going 34-of-49 including 14-of-20 in the fourthquarter to 16-of-24 for the Jazz.