Malone Shows Warriors No Mercy With 56

Karl Malone’s 56 points included everything from a 30-foot, one-handed fling to a series of short jumpers. And they were capped by the most important points of the game.

Malone completed the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season on a running jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining at Oakland to give the Utah Jazz a 101-99 victory over Golden State on Tuesday night.

Malone scored 25 of his points in the third quarter, including a three-pointer as the clock expired, and added 12 points in the fourth as Utah won its fourth consecutive game.

The Warriors tried stopping Malone with a series of defenders, but none had any success.

“I felt that every guy that was guarding me was at my mercy,” Malone said. “I’m not bragging about it, but I really felt that way.”

Malone’s 56 points represented the second-highest total of his career. He had 61 against Milwaukee in 1990.

It was the highest-scoring individual effort by anyone in the league since Glen Rice scored 56 for Miami against Orlando in 1995.

Two weeks ago, the Indiana Pacers scored a record-low 55 points.

“We were just standing around watching,” teammate Greg Foster said. “You kind of just have to get out of the way.”

Despite Malone’s incredible effort, the lowly Warriors tied the Jazz at 99-all with 11.8 seconds left on a three-pointer by Jim Jackson. But, as he had all night, Malone took matters into his own hands--driving into the lane and lofting a four-foot jumper for the game-winning points.

It was the fourth-highest point total in Jazz history. Pete Maravich had 68 for the New Orleans Jazz in 1977 and Adrian Dantley scored 57 in 1982.

“We tried smaller people and bigger people. At times we got the ball out of his hands, but it didn’t happen enough, obviously,” Warrior Coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We tried to double a lot on him. But before we could even get there, there was a foul called.”

Phoenix 103, Sacramento 97--Danny Manning suffered another anterior cruciate ligament injury to one of his knees as the Suns defeated the Kings at Sacramento.

Manning was carried off the court during the first quarter after injuring his right knee when he fell to the floor. He was to be examined by doctors in Phoenix today.

Manning, a leading contender for sixth man of the year while averaging 13.7 points per game in his 10th NBA season, previously underwent two major reconstructive surgeries for torn ACLs in his left knee (Dec. 18, 1995) and his right (Jan. 14, 1989).

Cliff Robinson scored 33 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns.

Minnesota 92, Miami 89--Alonzo Mourning scored 28 points in his return from a broken cheekbone, but Kevin Garnett had 27 to lead the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Wearing a clear facemask bordered by blue padding to protect the injury that kept him out of the last two games, Mourning had nine rebounds and went to the line for 16 free throws.

Indiana 82, Cleveland 80--Reggie Miller broke a tie on a 22-foot jumper with eight seconds left, and the Pacers defeated the Cavaliers at Indianapolis in a game in which Shawn Kemp was knocked unconscious.

Kemp was taken off on a stretcher late in the second quarter after being inadvertently elbowed in the chin by Derrick McKey. He returned for the start of the second half and finished with 16 points.

Chicago 103, Washington 85--Michael Jordan scored 30 points and Dennis Rodman had 20 rebounds at Chicago as the Bulls won their 13th game in a row and damaged the Wizards’ playoff chances.

The loss dropped the troubled Wizards 1 1/2 games behind New Jersey for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee 114, Toronto 105--Ray Allen scored 17 of his 28 points in the first half as the rejuvenated Bucks took control early at Milwaukee.

The Bucks won for the fourth time in five games. The Raptors ended a four-game road trip by losing their 10th in a row.

Portland 99, Dallas 91--Isaiah Rider scored 19 of his 26 points in the first half and the Trail Blazers overcame Shawn Bradley’s triple-double at Dallas.

Bradley finished with 22 points, 22 rebounds and 13 blocks for his sixth career triple-double.

Atlanta 92, New York 79--Steve Smith scored 24 points and Dikembe Mutombo had a season-high 19 rebounds, 17 points and six blocks at Atlanta.

Alan Henderson scored 20 points for the Hawks, who clinched a playoff spot.

Houston 104, Denver 87--Clyde Drexler moved past Patrick Ewing into 17th place on the NBA’s career scoring list at Denver.

Drexler scored 20 points, increasing his career total to 22,085--six more than Ewing.

Hakeem Olajuwon had 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Rockets ended a six-game losing streak.