Jazz Keep Top Seed Hopes Alive

The Utah Jazz don't usually keep an eye on the out-of-town scoreboard.

"I don't like having things taken out of my hands. I like to take care of it myself on the court," said Karl Malone, whose first triple-double of the season propelled the Jazz to a 99-82 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.

"But we put ourselves into this situation, and we've got to deal with it."

Utah lost the right to determine its playoff destiny by losing at San Antonio on Sunday, and Malone's 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists were all that kept the Clippers from making things very uncomfortable for the lackadaisical Jazz at home.

The Mailman, who was 11-of-13 from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line, summed up Utah's attitude toward the game: "We were thinking, `There's bigger fish to fry."'

The Clippers (9-40), who end their season Wednesday at home against Seattle, never gave the Jazz much breathing room. Utah trailed 52-49 at halftime, and Lamond Murray's steal and layup with 7:49 to play cut the Jazz's lead to 79-75.

But Malone recorded an assist and a basket on Utah's next two possessions, and Greg Ostertag scored back-to-back hoops to pull the Jazz out of danger. The Clippers are 0-16 in Utah since the Delta Center opened in 1991.

"We played very well in the first half, but they really turned up the heat defensively in the third quarter," Clippers coach Chris Ford said.

Los Angeles is one game in front of Vancouver (8-41) for the league's worst record and the best chance at the No. 1 pick in the draft lotery. The Clippers have lost four straight games and finished the year 3-22 on the road.

Malone, who spent ample time yapping at Clippers rookies Michael Olowokandi and Maurice Taylor, was cheered by the sellout Utah crowd with choruses of "M-V-P!" at almost any provocation. A particularly loud chant began while the Mailman shot a free throw with 2:37 left in the game, but a grinning Malone missed.

Bryon Russell had 16 points for the Jazz, while John Stockton added 12 points and 11 assists. Eric Piatkowski led five Clippers in double figures with 18 points, 16 of them before halftime.

The Clippers played a solid first half and looked as if they might surprise the Jazz, who shot 62 percent but made nine turnovers. However, Utah made a 20-2 run to start the second half and held Los Angeles without a field goal for 7:02, taking a 67-51 lead midway through the third.

But Troy Hudson, who spent the first 18 games of last season on the Jazz roster and was signed out of the CBA by the Clippers last month, had eight quick points in the second half to lead Los Angeles back. He finished with 15 points and seven assists.

"We took a shot, but that's why they've been the second-best team in basketball for two years," Hudson said.

After the game ended, the Jazz played the second half of the San Antonio-Portland game over the arena's Jumbotron screen. A large portion of the crowd remained to watch, all cheering the Trail Blazers.

Notes: Jeff Hornacek played in his 1,000th NBA game. He scored 10 points. ... The Clippers, who already had three players on the injured list, played the game with just 10 players in uniform. Sherman Douglas didn't dress with a sprained left ankle, and Lorenzen Wright wasn't with the team for personal reasons. ... Stockton assisted on Utah's first four baskets of the game and scored the fifth himself. He had five assists in seven minutes of first-quarter play. ... The two teams played nearly five straight minutes without a dead ball late in the first half, leaving a television timeout to be taken with 2.4 seconds left before halftime. ... Ostertag blocked five shots.

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