Malone Not Buying Harris’ Criticisms

Karl Malone did not go postal Thursday. If anything, he brushed off comments from Laker Coach Del Harris that the Mailman purposely kicks players when he elevates for a shot inside, perhaps because he has heard them many times before.

“It wouldn’t be a series unless somebody had something negative to say,” Malone said after Jazz practice in Salt Lake City. “I’ve been playing like this for 13 years. I’m not going to change just because somebody said something.

“It’s like WCW wrestling. That’s what you say to try to get the other guy riled up.”

Added Utah Coach Jerry Sloan: “Tell Del we’ll line them up here at half court, and let’s play football. I’ll kick off, and then he can kick.

“That’s where the kicks are.”

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Greg Ostertag vs. Shaquille O’Neal, continued:

Before the slap at the start of this season, there was the impact at the end of the last one, when O’Neal managed only 22 points a game and 49.4% shooting and Ostertag came off as a hero to teammates. Now Ostertag, though no longer the starter, heads into the rematch playing well. He recorded nine rebounds and three blocks in only 16 minutes of Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs and nine rebounds and six blocks in 23 minutes of Game 3.

Those came while matched against David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Ostertag also had impressive moments against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in the first round, most notably the seven blocked shots, including five in the fourth quarter to set a Jazz playoff record for most in a period. He also grabbed 11 rebounds earlier in the series.

Now comes O’Neal.

“From this point on we need every big guy to step up and play defense,” Malone said. “I realize everybody wants to score, but we need defensive stops at this time. Greg was a big presence for us last time, and if I recall last year he was excited when he played Shaq in the playoffs.”

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The Jazz is in the Western Conference finals for the third year in a row and the fourth time in five years. The only miss came with the first-round loss to the Houston Rockets--and Robert Horry--in 1995. . . . John Stockton passed Magic Johnson several years ago to become the all-time assist leader, but the playoff mark is out of reach. Johnson had 2,346 and Stockton is at 1,438. . . . Sloan has moved into ninth place on the postseason coaching win list, at 59. One more gets him a tie with John Kundla, who guided the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships, at No. 8.