Clippers Shock Utah 103-77
Karl Malone got ejected and the Utah Jazz got their most surprising loss of the season to the woeful Los Angeles Clippers.
Eric Piatkowski scored 18 points and rookie Michael Olowokandi had 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Clippers beat the Jazz 103-77 Saturday night for just their third victory of the year.
The Clippers, whose 3-24 record is the NBA's worst, routed a Utah team that has the league's second-best mark at 21-7.
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Los Angeles was leading by 21 points when Malone picked up his second technical foul and was ejected with 9:44 left in the third quarter.
Malone, the NBA's third-leading scorer this season and fourth on the all-time list, missed six of seven shots in the first half and did not get off another shot before getting thrown out with the Jazz trailing 57-36.
He got his first technical foul from referee Bennie Adams with four seconds left in the first half for disputing an offensive foul called against teammate Bryon Russell. He got his second technical and the automatic ejection from Adams after shoving Clippers forward Maurice Taylor.
Malone and Taylor had exchanged words earlier in the third quarter after some physical play in the paint, and then brushed against each other a moment before the shoving incident. Taylor escaped without getting a technical, and Utah coach Jerry Sloan got a technical from Adams for complaining about that.
Piatkowski, who was 12-for-13 from the foul line, sank both free throws following the technicals against Malone and Sloan. He capped the period with three free throws for a 79-54 cushion after he was fouled behind the 3-point line by Shandon Anderson with three seconds left in the quarter.
The Jazz, who got 10 points each from Jeff Hornacek and reserves Todd Fuller and Jacques Vaughn, got no closer than 23 points the rest of the way.
Playing without forward Rodney Roers, who bruised his right knee in Friday night's loss at Seattle, the Clippers got 14 points from rookie Tyrone Nesby en route to a 52-32 halftime lead their biggest of the season.
Los Angeles led 32-13 after one quarter as Olowokandi contributed nine points and nine rebounds, while Utah missed 14 of 19 shots from the field. The Jazz got as close as 11 points on Anderson's dunk with 5:51 left in the second quarter.
It was the Clippers' second victory in their last 11 meetings with the two-time defending Western Conference champs. The other one also came at Anaheim Arena, 111-102 last Feb. 3. Notes: The Clippers have set aside 400 complimentary tickets for their April 24 game against Vancouver and are giving them to construction workers who are building the team's new home, the Staples Center. ... ... Six of Utah's losses have come on the road. ... The Jazz trail Portland by 1½ games in the race for the NBA's best record. ... Malone is the second Utah player to be ejected in less than a week. Greg Ostertag was thrown out in the third quarter last Sunday at Detroit. ... The Clippers have a regular-season record of 14-19 at Anaheim Arena.
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