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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- With Karl Malone at the free throw line and John Starks behind the 3-point arc, the Utah Jazz had nothing
to worry about.
|  | | Karl Malone drew plenty of fouls, including Larry Johnson's sixth, and hit 14 of 16 free throws. |
Malone scored 33 points, hitting 14 of 16 free throws, and Starks added 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range against his former team as Utah beat the New York Knicks 106-90 Wednesday night.
Most importantly for the Jazz, they played well and rebounded from a gut-wrenching overtime loss one night earlier against Western Conference rival Sacramento.
"You never know how you're going to come back and play," said
Utah coach Jerry Sloan. "We had a lot of guys that played well.
Our energy level was pretty good, especially for our older guys."
John Stockton added 15 points while Donyell Marshall scored 12
points and had 10 rebounds as the Jazz beat the Knicks for the
seventh straight time.
Glen Rice came off the bench to lead the Knicks with 24 points,
while Latrell Sprewell had 23, Allan Houston had 12 and Marcus
Camby 10. New York, saddled with foul problems, couldn't keep up
with the Jazz in the fourth quarter.
For all the talk this season about the Knicks having the league's best defense, they've wilted in both games coming out of the All-Star break. Utah's 106 points was a season high by an opponent, one night after the Nuggets pounded New York 96-77 in Denver.
"Our morale is low," Sprewell said. "We're not playing with
the type of confidence and competitiveness that we were before. We
have to bring more energy, more passion, and just the will to win."
Trailing 81-75 entering the fourth period, New York seemed
poised to challenge after Camby opened the quarter with a dunk and
Rice followed with a jumper to trim the deficit to 84-79.
But the Knicks went cold, hitting only three field goals through
the first 11 minutes of the quarter. By then, the Jazz had opened
the lead to 97-85 and never were threatened again.
How could New York get anything going? Larry Johnson and Houston fouled out. Charlie Ward and Kurt Thomas finished with five
fouls, and Camby spent much of the second half on the bench
with four.
"When the key guys, myself, L.J. and Kurt get into foul trouble, it's going to be tough for us to win," Camby said.
Always a challenge for any defense, Malone has been doing some
of his best work lately without anyone guarding him. Over the past
six games, the Mailman is 43-of-46 from the free throw line.
"I missed two tonight. That's not good," Malone said.
Early in the third, Malone even connected from 3-point range.
"It's about time I got one. I haven't made one in three
years," he said.
The Knicks cut the margin to 88-81 on two free throws by
Sprewell with 8:03 remaining, but Malone seized control on Utah's
ensuing possession.
He went down hard when Thomas locked him up with 6:20 to play, and stayed on the floor long enough to put a scare through the near-sellout crowd at the Delta Center.
The Jazz took a timeout to regroup. Thomas was assessed a flagrant foul and Malone, after collecting himself on the bench, hit one of his two free throws.
Utah retained possession and after the Jazz milked the shot
clock, Malone drew a foul on Johnson, his sixth, and the Mailman
hit both free throws to put Utah up 91-81 with 6:10 remaining.
"Karl Malone was terrific inside," Sloan said. "He just
played really active and had a terrific game."
The only drama from there came when Sprewell sprained his left
ankle while driving the lane with 3:17 to play. It happened near
the same spot where, one night earlier, Sacramento's Chris Webber
sprained his left ankle.
"I just rolled it over, so we'll tomorrow how much it swells up," Sprewell said. "That's the one thing I have been blessed with. I am a limber guy."
Sprewell planned to treat the swelling with ice on the flight back to New York, then he will be re-evaluated on Thursday.
Game notes
Stockton played in the 1,307th game of his 17-year career,
tying Buck Williams for fourth place on the NBA's all-time list.
... The Jazz were whistled for illegal defense twice in an
eight-second span of the third quarter. ... At halftime, Salt Lake
City Mayor Rocky Anderson presided over wedding vows for 93 couples
in a Valentine's Day promotion by a radio station.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
Milwaukee 102
Atlanta 98
Detroit 105
New Jersey 86
Orlando 114
LA Clippers 101
Philadelphia 112
LA Lakers 97
Phoenix 104
Minnesota 96
Utah 106
New York 90
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Karl Malone Official Site
Bryon Russell Official Site
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