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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Don't call Karl Malone perfect. After all,
he missed a lousy free throw.
|  | | Vin Baker, right, tries to force his way past Olden Polynice. |
Malone scored 28 points on 12-of-12 shooting, tying his
franchise record for best shooting performance, and Donyell
Marshall added 22 points as the Utah Jazz beat the Seattle
SuperSonics 111-91 on Saturday night.
Afterward, all Malone could talk about was going 4-of-5 from the
line.
"I missed a free throw, so it wasn't perfect," said Malone,
who also hit 12-of-12 during a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers
in April 1999.
"The day I'm perfect from the field and perfect from the
free-throw line with no turnovers, I'll retire," Malone said.
"I'm sure I'll never get it."
John Stockton had 15 assists in the 1,304th game of his 17-year
career, moving him past Elvin Hayes for fifth place on the NBA's
all-time list.
Bryon Russell, making his first start in almost a month, scored
21 points and Greg Ostertag had a season-high 13.
Rashard Lewis had 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead the
Sonics, who played without perennial All-Star point guard Gary
Payton. He stayed home to rest a strained abdominal muscle
sustained in Thursday's win over Chicago.
Vin Baker scored 17, Emanual Davis had 13 and Brent Barry added
10 for the Sonics, who lost decisively to the Jazz for the second
time in a week. Utah won 102-88 on Tuesday in Seattle.
Malone made every shot through the third quarter, then kept it
going in the fourth when he flipped in a runner in the lane while
drawing a foul on Patrick Ewing. The Mailman hit the free throw for
a 90-77 lead with 7:47 to play.
"They weren't all easy shots," Stockton said. "He made some
real tough shots, too."
No question it was Malone's night on Seattle's next possession,
when Baker isolated Malone on the right wing, turned to face him
and drove a shoulder into Malone's chest.
"You don't try to rub it in, you just take what the defense
gives you," Malone said. "The most important thing is we got the
win and now we have a couple of days off."
The call was an offensive foul, and Malone clapped his hands as
he lay on the baseline. The Jazz sealed it by scoring the next 10
points, extending the lead to 100-77 on Russell's three-point play
with 4:28 to play.
"What was it? Last week, two weeks ago, he was too old to
play," said Utah coach Jerry Sloan. "This week, it's a little bit
different. He's a great shooter for a big game."
Seattle trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but
pulled within 50-47 at halftime. Malone had eight points in the
first three minutes of the third quarter as the Jazz opened a 62-53
lead.
The Sonics hung close, pulling within 69-62 on two free throws
by Ewing, then Lewis scored on a jumper and a dunk and Seattle tied
it on a 3-pointer by Barry with 4:37 remaining in the third.
Utah regained control with an 8-0 run, capped by John Crotty's
3-pointer with 2:20 on the third-quarter clock. That's when it
became apparent how much the Sonics missed Payton.
"We're a talented team, but he's our leader," Baker said.
"When you get to 69-69, he's the type of player who can really
control the tempo of the game, and we didn't have that."
Russell started for the first time since Jan. 6, replacing John
Starks, who went home to Oklahoma after his mother's death.
Besides Payton, the Sonics also played without Ruben Patterson,
who served the second game of a three-game league suspension after
pleading guilty last week to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming
from a fight last summer in Cleveland.
Game notes
Sloan's three-year contract extension, signed Friday, is
worth a reported $12 million. ... Davis, coming off a career-high
19 points against Chicago, started in place of Payton. ... Starks
apparently knew of his mother's death before Utah beat Charlotte on
Thursday but chose not to disclose the news until after the game.
... Stockton, 38, and Malone, 37, both are older than 36-year-old
Seattle coach Nate McMillan.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
Sonics' Payton misses Saturday's game against Jazz
RECAPS
Minnesota 108
Toronto 105
Denver 105
Washington 100
Detroit 88
Cleveland 81
Orlando 96
Atlanta 84
Dallas 101
Golden State 95
Milwaukee 104
Indiana 85
San Antonio 90
Houston 88
Utah 111
Seattle 91
Vancouver 91
Chicago 84
LA Clippers 90
Portland 89
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Karl Malone Official Site
Bryon Russell Official Site
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