NBA ROUNDUP : Malone Too Much for Seattle

Seattle forward Eddie Johnson succinctly summed up the SuperSonics’ visit to Salt Lake City on Thursday night.

“Too much Karl Malone,” Johnson said.

It was too much Malone in the final minute when he scored five of his season-high 38 points, keying a game-ending 7-0 run that gave the Jazz a 96-89 victory, ending the SuperSonics’ six-game winning streak.

It also was too much Malone in the second half when he scored 27 points and took seven of his 12 rebounds.

And it was too much Malone on defense as he helped hold Seattle forwards Shawn Kemp, Derrick McKey and Michael Cage to a combined 13-of-32 shooting.

“It’s one of those things where you get whatever position you can get and hope that good things happen,” Malone said. “It came down to me taking whatever they would give me.”

With the game tied, 89-89, Malone’s jump shot with 1:00 remaining and tip-in with 16 seconds left gave the Jazz a 93-89 lead. On the SuperSonics’ next possession, Malone stole the ball from McKey and made a free throw with 9.3 seconds to go.

John Stockton’s layup with 1.4 seconds on the clock accounted for the final margin as Seattle did not get off a shot and turned the ball over four times in the last 1:35.

“Karl came up big down the stretch and he took control of the game,” Stockton said.

Kemp led the SuperSonics with 15 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 2:17 left.

“The only positive I can see in our game is that we played awful and had a chance to win,” Seattle Coach George Karl said.

Jazz center Mark Eaton blocked two shots to become the second NBA player with 3,000. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the career leader with 3,189.

Atlanta 108, Detroit 91-- Dominique Wilkins scored 26 points as the Hawks defeated the Pistons at Atlanta to extend their winning streak to four games.

The NBA’s leading rebounder, Dennis Rodman, had 11 rebounds and six points before leaving with 4:12 left in the second quarter with a strained right calf muscle.

“I have no idea when I’ll play again, but it won’t be Saturday,” Rodman said. “I’m used to playing with pain, but not like this.

“I hurt it when I took off toward the basket. I felt it pop. I’m sure I tore some portion of the calf. We’ll try crutches for a day or two.”

Orlando Woolridge scored 23 points and Joe Dumars 18 for Detroit, the first visitor to Atlanta in 18 games this season to fail to score 100 points.

San Antonio 108, Milwaukee 93--Dale Ellis scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs beat the Bucks at Milwaukee for their fifth consecutive victory.

David Robinson had 21 points and 16 rebounds as the Spurs handed the Bucks their fifth loss in a row. San Antonio is 10-2 under John Lucas, who replaced Jerry Tarkanian as coach on Dec. 18.

Frank Brickowski led Milwaukee with 18 points. Rookie Lee Mayberry, in his first NBA start, scored a career-high 17.

Houston 114, Charlotte 102-- Rookie Robert Horry a season-high 26 points as the Rockets defeated the Hornets at Houston.

Vernon Maxwell had 25 points and 11 assists and Hakeem Olajuwon 14 points and 19 rebounds for the Rockets, who have followed a seven-game losing streak with three consecutive victories.

Dell Curry scored 21 points for the Hornets.

Phoenix 114, Sacramento 104--Dan Majerle and Richard Dumas each scored 23 points as the Suns beat the Kings at Sacramento.

Charles Barkley finished with 20 points for Phoenix, which improved its record to an NBA-best 24-6. The Suns’ previous-best record after 30 games was 23-7 in 1980-81.

Wayman Tisdale scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Kings, who missed 13 of 17 shots in the third quarter. The Kings led at the half, 61-52, but the Suns used a 33-10 advantage during the third quarter to take control.

Portland 104, Miami 93--Terry Porter scored 32 points at Portland as the Trail Blazers defeated the Heat in overtime.

Harold Miner had 20 points for the Heat, which sent the game into overtime by outscoring the Trail Blazers, 6-2, in the final minute of regulation.