Jazz Earns a Big Victory, but Seikaly Trade Voided

The Utah Jazz voided its trade for Rony Seikaly on Wednesday night, making the announcement in the fourth quarter of its 94-78 victory over the New York Knicks at Salt Lake City.

Karl Malone scored 25 points and Adam Keefe and Shandon Anderson each had 13 as the Jazz played without Seikaly and the two players traded for him.

Seikaly, traded by Orlando for Greg Foster, Chris Morris and Utah’s 1998 first-round draft pick on Monday, failed to report within the required 48-hour deadline.

Seikaly apparently wanted the Jazz to guarantee the next two years of his contract, worth $8.5 million. Seikaly waived those guaranteed years at Orlando’s request so he could join the Magic at the start of last season.

Earlier, Jazz owner Larry Miller expressed frustration at Seikaly’s decision not to report.

“It’s frustrating because Rony’s saying all the right things, that he wants to come, he wants to play for a championship, but his agent is saying, flat-out, that he’s not coming,” Miller said.

“It’s a huge disappointment for us. We’ll just have to figure out what plan B is and go on from there.”

Jazz spokesman Mark Kelly said it appeared that Morris and Foster would be returning to Utah. They were not at Orlando Arena for the Magic’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to an Orlando spokeswoman.

The 6-foot-11 Seikaly averaged 17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds last season. After the deal was announced Monday, Seikaly appeared upset.

“I never thought the Magic would do this to me,” Seikaly told the Orlando Sentinel. “They at least could have had the decency to tell me what was going on.”

Seikaly had called the trade a great opportunity, that “having a chance to play with two legends is the type of thing that you dream of.”

Orlando 115, Minnesota 102--The Magic learned after the game at Orlandothat the Seikaly deal had been voided.

Orlando ran into injury trouble as guard Mark Price was injured on the final play of the first half and will be out four to six weeks because of a torn ligament in his right thumb.

The Magic also had a scare when Derek Harper hurt his neck when he was clotheslined by Tom Hammonds on a flagrant foul as he drove to the basket in the third quarter.

Harper said he was OK after the game, but he was on the floor for five minutes before being carried off by paramedics and taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Hammonds apologized to Harper before Harper was taken off the court.

“I felt numbness on my shoulder and back at first, then finally it started to fade,” Harper said. “I feel all right now. A massage and some ice and I should be ready to play the next game.”

Boston 114, Vancouver 105--Dana Barros scored a season-high 29 points to lead the visiting Celtics, capping a day of trades for both teams.

Earlier, Boston acquired guard Kenny Anderson from Toronto in a seven-player swap. The Grizzlies sent Otis Thorpe to Sacramento for Bobby Hurley in one of two deals the club made Wednesday.

Sam Mack led the Grizzlies with 27 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 25 as Vancouver lost for the eighth time in nine games.

Milwaukee 108, Washington 98--Ray Allen scored 25 points and Glenn Robinson had 21, and the visiting Bucks pulled away when Washington went cold in the fourth quarter as Milwaukee climbed back to .500.

The loss dropped the Wizards to the .500 mark in a battle between two teams trying to fight off injuries and inch their way to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks had lost three of four games since point guard Terrell Brandon went down with a sprained ankle, while the Wizards are 2-3 since losing starting forwards Chris Webber and Juwan Howard.

Washington’s Rod Strickland Strickland finished with 33 points and 11 assists.

Atlanta 114, New Jersey 104--Steve Smith scored 14 of his 25 points in the final 9:26 to lead the Hawks to victory at Atlanta.

Alan Henderson scored 26 points in helping the Hawks end a three-game losing streak.

Atlanta’s Dikembe Mutombo scored 12 points and matched a season high with eight blocked shots. Christian Laettner, who had missed the previous four games with flu, added 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench.

Sam Cassell led the Nets with 24 points and rookie Keith Van Horn scored 22 as New Jersey’s five-game winning streak was halted.

Seattle 101, Portland 95--Nate McMillan, playing in his first game of the season, sank three three-point baskets in the final quarter and the SuperSonics beat the new-look Trail Blazers at Seattle.

Damon Stoudamire, starting his second game at point guard for the Trail Blazers after being acquired in a trade from Toronto, had 14 points and 11 assists.

McMillan, who missed Seattle’s first 51 games this season after undergoing surgery to his right knee, contributed nine points in the fourth quarter when the SuperSonics pulled away.

The SuperSonics played without starting small forward Detlef Schrempf, who missed the game because of a sore neck. He was injured in practice Monday.

Golden State 88, Charlotte 77--Donyell Marshall and Tony Delk scored 20 points each to lead the short-handed Warriors past the injury-depleted Hornets at Oakland.

The Warriors, who have won two straight at home, beat a winning team for only the third time this season. The Hornets, playing with two starters and their sixth man on the injured list, have lost four of their last five games.

Golden State played without newly-obtained Jimmy Jackson or Clarence Weatherspoon, neither of whom made it to Oakland in time for the game following Tuesday’s trade that sent Joe Smith and Brian Shaw to Philadelphia.

Charlotte shot just 39% from the field. Glen Rice led the way with a game-high 31 points, but shot only 11 for 27 overall and was one for seven on three-pointers.

The announced paid attendance of 9,335 was the Warriors’ second-lowest of the season.