Malone Clutch In Jazz Win

April 10, 1999 / 1:06 AM EDT / CBS/AP

As the final buzzer sounded, Karl Malone smiled at Chris Morris and held up three fingers. It was all he needed to tell his former teammate.

Malone scored 31 points and made three free throws with six-tenths of a second left that gave the Utah Jazz a 93-92 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

His last-second heroics ruined the night for Morris, who scored 17 payback-fueled points against the team that didn't re-sign him during the offseason. Morris also hit a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left that gave Phoenix a 92-90 lead.

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But Clifford Robinson fouled Malone hard on an awkward 3-point attempt, and Malone went to the line with a chance to steal a win.

"Chris was trying to say something to me, trying to throw me off," Malone said. "I just told him, `A lot of things can happen."'

"I was thinking he was going to give us one, because the first one was kind of shaky," Morris said. "But that's Karl. What can you say?"

Malone's first shot bounded around the rim before going in, but the last two dropped straight through. A desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer by Jason Kidd, who had 19 points and 11 assists, was off to the right.

"I thought he'd hit two of them, but he was sensational and hit all three," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "I don't think people appreciate the things Karl Malone has done day in and day out."

Malone was 11-of-18 from the field, 9-of-10 from the line and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Jazz won their fifth straight and beat the Suns for the fifth consecutive time.

Malone's clutch play was the latest in a string of outstanding performances. He scored a season-high 38 points against Golden State on Thursday and was 12-for-12 from the field on the way to 30 points against the Lakers on Tuesday.

"I've seen him do so many amazing things," ohn Stockton said of Malone. "It was fun (tonight). It was definitely clutch."

After trailing much of the night, Phoenix took an 87-86 lead with 1:50 left on Rex Chapman's alley-oop pass to Kidd for a layup. Kidd then hit two free throws, but Malone answered with a jumper.

With 32 seconds left, Adam Keefe won a jump ball with Morris, who was 6-for-7 from the field. At the other end, Bryon Russell drove the lane and hit a 15-footer over Chapman to give Utah a 92-90 lead with 10.8 seconds left.

Kidd drove the lane and found Morris in the right corner, who hit a 3-pointer to give him a season-high 17 points. As Utah called a timeout, the Suns jumped off the bench and Kidd leaped into Morris' arms.

"That's why you can never celebrate until the final buzzer goes off," Jeff Hornacek said. "They were doing a little too much celebrating."

Suns coach Danny Ainge could only hold his head in dismay when Robinson hacked Malone across the arms as he tried a 3-pointer well out of his shooting range. After the game, Robinson admitted he made a mistake.

"I'm not going to knock the play he made, because he made a good play," Robinson said. "(It's a) tough loss for us, especially for me to swallow because I made the foul."

The lead changed hands 29 times and neither team led by more than eight points in a physical game. Both teams' starting centers, Luc Longley and Greg Ostertag, left the game with injuries.

Longley collided with Malone midway through the first quarter and hyperextended his left knee, but he said afterward that he had done no serious damage to the joint.

Ostertag suffered a cut on his eyeball when he was accidentally poked in the eye by Morris. Doctors said Ostertag was probable for Sunday's game against Houston.

Danny Manning and George McCloud combined for 19 points in the second half and were among the six Suns who scored in double digits. Shandon Anderson had 17 points off the bench for Utah.

Phoenix led 81-77 with six minutes to play, but Malone scored six straight points for Utah. His jumper with 53 seconds left cut the Suns' lead to 89-88.

Kidd played another superb game, driving at will on Stockton and carrying the Suns much of the night. But he missed two shots in the closing minute, either of which could have given the Suns a healthy lead.

Notes: Tom Gugliotta missed his fourth straight game for the Suns with a hyperextended right knee. ... Chapman was 0-for-9 from the field for Phoenix. ... Ostertag had 11 rebounds before leaving. ... Carolyn Peck, who led Purdue to the women's national championship and is now coach of the WNBA's Orlando Miracle, was in attendance. Peck will receive the Wooden Award on Saturday as the nation's top college basketball coach. ... One night after shooting a combined 1-for-11, Stockton and Hornacek were 5-for-18 from the field Friday.