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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The quick-starting Utah Jazz had 36 points
in the first quarter. Not bad for a bunch of old men.
|  | | Karl Malone, top, and Scott Padgett deny John Wallace of the Knicks. |
Karl Malone scored a season-high 33 points and John Stockton,
fighting a respiratory illness, scored 17 as the Utah Jazz beat the
New York Knicks 98-90 Wednesday night.
Afterward, Malone joked about Utah's aging lineup.
"We're old, remember?" said Malone, 36. "We're two or three
steps slower now. We can't play with other teams, right? I try not
to read it anymore. I get tired of hearing how old I am."
The Jazz hit their first 10 shots and 15 of their first 16 to
build a 34-14 lead after almost nine minutes.
"We had five guys really try to help each other defensively,"
said coach Jerry Sloan. "A lot of those shots came because our
defense put us in a position to take better shots. We got a lot of
easy shots."
Utah cooled off in the second and third quarters but it was
enough of a cushion to outlast the Knicks.
Stockton, who had 11 assists, was listed as questionable until
tipoff. After missing only 22 games in 15 years in the league, he
showed no signs of the infection and played 30 minutes.
Latrell Sprewell had 24 points for New York one night after
scoring 26 in a 102-95 victory at Denver. Marcus Camby scored 18,
Larry Johnson had 14 and Allan Houston added 13 for the Knicks.
But all that mattered was New York's weak first quarter.
"It would have been nice to come in here and get a win (but) we laid an egg, especially in the first quarter," Camby said. "I mean, games like this, you've got to be pumped up, juice yourself up, trick your mind that you're going to go out and play hard."
Jeff Hornacek and Bryon Russell each had 10 points for the Jazz,
who held a 46-33 rebounding advantage. Malone had 11 rebounds, 10
on the defensive end, and Greg Ostertag had eight boards.
"We just didn't get the stops we needed and Malone played great," Sprewell said. "Ostertag was big in keeping some rebounds that we should have had alive and giving their squad a second opportunity to make baskets."
It was New York's fourth loss in five games after the Knicks started the season with three straight wins. Worse for coach Jeff Van Gundy, it was the second of a five-game road swing through the West.
"It's a tough week to win and we have to do tough things like
travel the night before and play a rested, good team," Van Gundy
said. "If we gave the effort we gave from the second quarter on,
we have a chance to win."
Utah shot 78 percent (15-of-19) in the first quarter, including
three misses to end the period. The Jazz led 34-14 on a basket by Howard Eisley with 3:08 to play, their biggest lead of the game.
Utah, which hasn't scored more than 100 points all season, went
into a 4-for-15 slump in the second period but still managed to
lead 60-42 at halftime. Malone had 20 points and Stockton had 11 at
the break.
New York pulled within 36-25 on a basket by Houston to open the
second quarter. The Jazz hit 7-of-21 in the second quarter but
scored the last six points of the period.
Malone had seven of his 20 first-half points in the last 3:12.
The Knicks made it 77-71 after three periods but rookie Scott
Padgett and Russell opened the fourth quarter with 3-pointers for
the Jazz. The Knicks closed to 93-86 on a jumper by Houston with
2:30 to play but couldn't get any closer.
Game notes
Chris Childs needed four stitches to close a cut he opened during a third-quarter collision with Stockton. ... The Jazz have
won 10 of their last 12 against the Knicks, who are winless in Salt
Lake City since a 97-80 victory on Jan. 27, 1992. The teams didn't
play last year in the lockout-shortened season. ... Sloan was on
the bench for his 1,075th game, moving him into 15th place on the
NBA's all-time list. He passed Chuck Daly and Alvin Attles, who are
tied for No. 16.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 114
Cleveland 103
Miami 98
Philadelphia 93
Charlotte 104
Dallas 99
Detroit 109
New Jersey 107
Portland 81
Orlando 79
LA Clippers 89
Minnesota 85
Utah 98
New York 90
Phoenix 105
Chicago 81
Seattle 111
Golden State 108
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