SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ Relax, Jazz fans. Karl Malone's knee will be fine.

Bryon Russell scored 17 points and John Stockton had 16 in Utah's 96-88 exhibition victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night, a game where Malone left in the third quarter with a strained left knee.

Malone scored 13 points before going to the locker room with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter. A hush swept over the Delta Center after he was in a collision and didn't immediately get up.

Malone left the arena without comment, leaving Jazz owner Larry Miller to dispel concerns.

``Seeing him getting helped off the court made me nervous,'' Miller said outside the Utah locker room. ``But after talking to him back there, I feel OK.''

The pileup started when Cleveland's Lamond Murray drove the lane with Malone in the paint to defend. John Starks and Donyell Marshall of the Jazz converged, and Malone fell back from the cluster.

``I think someone, maybe Jacque (Vaughn), might have tripped Lamond,'' Marshall said. ``As Lamond fell, he rolled over my ankle and Karl's leg. Out of the three, Karl got the worst of it but he's going to be all right.''

Jazz players came off the bench and craned their necks to see Malone being treated by trainer Gary Briggs.

It wasn't known if the injury would keep Malone out of Utah's next preseason game, against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday in East Lansing, Mich.

However, the durable Malone, who has missed only three regular-season games to injuries during his 16-year NBA career, is a solid bet to be back in the lineup when the season opens Oct. 31.

Murray led Cleveland with 16 points while Chris Gatling had 12 and Matt Harpring added 11. Former University of Utah standout Andre Miller, cheered during introductions, scored 10 to go with eight rebounds and eight assists.

``We didn't play well as a team defensively,'' Miller said. ``Utah executes well. We worked on some things in practice but they had a different game plan. They came out and knocked down the shots.''

The Cavaliers got within 87-83 with 1:55 to play on a basket by Murray. The Jazz answered with a jumper by Quincy Lewis and Vaughn, who scored 11 points, went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line over the last 1:16.

Vaughn, who moved up to second string behind Stockton with Howard Eisley's departure to Dallas, looked comfortable in his new role.

``I don't know that we've established the second unit yet because coach is still juggling the lineup,'' Vaughn said. ``But every time the guys are in with me, I think top to bottom we're more athletic than in previous years.''

The Jazz pulled away from a 25-23 lead early in the second quarter with a 8-0 surge. Russell then scored 12 straight points for Utah over a span of 2:09 to give the Jazz a 45-28 lead 2:54 before halftime.

During that spurt, Russell hit two 3-pointers and completed two three-point plays.

``We all had it going,'' Russell said. ``We played defense early but we slacked off. The important part is that we finished strong. That's what the coach is looking for.''

After the game, the Utah Jazz requested waivers on center Nick Sheppard, forward Ben Davis and guard Bryant Smith, trimming the roster to 15. None of them played against the Cavaliers.