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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) – With the Utah Jazz struggling in a game with
playoff seeding implications, Karl Malone took control.
|  | | Karl Malone pulls down one of his game-high 11 rebounds for the Jazz. |
Malone scored 11 of his 31 points in the third quarter and
finished with 11 rebounds as the Utah Jazz beat the Dallas
Mavericks 116-103 Saturday night.
"This gives us some momentum going into the playoffs," Malone
said. "When we play Jazz basketball, it's hard for anyone to beat
us."
With the win, the Jazz ended a seven-game losing streak against
teams in contention for a playoff berth.
Trailing 42-37, the Jazz went on a 19-0 run that started in the
final three minutes of the first half and continued until 9:48 in
the third quarter. A short jumper by Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki
ended Utah's run.
The Jazz controlled the game from that point. Malone and forward Donyell Marshall combined for 21 of Utah's 36 third-quarter points.
Marshall scored 21 points and John Stockton had 15 points and 13
assists.
"The way we've been playing, we needed a game like this,"
Malone said. "We needed to get back to playing a solid game."
The Jazz moved into sole possession of fourth place in the
Western Conference, surging past the Mavericks (49-27) in the
battle for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The teams traded elbows and hard fouls throughout, resuming
their physical battle of March 26, when the Mavericks won 98-90 in
Utah in a game that included six technicals and two flagrant fouls.
In the first eight minutes Saturday, there were two flagrant
fouls and two technicals.
The Mavericks matched the Jazz's rough style, but struggled at
both ends of the court against the Utah's guards.
Utah shooting guard Bryon Russell had 18 points and his backup,
John Starks, added 16.
"We got taught a good old-fashioned lesson tonight," Mavericks
coach Don Nelson said. "They outplayed us in almost every aspect
of the game. They took control of the game and kept it.
"This is a playoff type game and all of these games have been
lately."
Nelson pleaded with his team at halftime not play soft, but the
Jazz turned up their defensive pressure in the second half, forcing
the Mavericks into 10 third-quarter turnovers. Michael Finley and Steve Nash combined for 11 of the Mavericks' 23 turnovers.
"I'm always amazed (at the Mavericks turnovers) because they
are a great ball handling team," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "We
just happened to be a little bit lucky and they turned it over."
Juwan Howard finished with 24 points and four rebounds for
Dallas. Nowitzki added 22 points and nine rebounds.
Game notes
Wang Zhizhi, the first NBA player born in China, played the
last 1:03 and was scoreless. The 7-foot-1 center had six points and
three rebounds in his eight-minute debut Thursday against Atlanta.
... Wang's No. 16 jersey goes on sale Wednesday at Reunion Arena.
... In their last two games, the Mavs and Jazz have been whistled
for eight technicals and four flagrant fouls. ... The Jazz, 6-14
against the Western Conference's top five teams, ended a seven-game
losing streak against playoff-bound opponents. ... Home-court
advantage doesn't mean much in the four-game Mavs-Jazz series. Both
teams won the two road games.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Utah Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 102
Washington 100
Detroit 97
Charlotte 92
Phoenix 102
Cleveland 98
Utah 116
Dallas 103
Houston 110
Atlanta 97
Denver 98
Vancouver 97
San Antonio 93
LA Clippers 83
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