Jazz Beats Trail Blazers in Battle of the Best

Karl Malone was 13 for 13 from the foul line and scored 25 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 96-85 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night at Salt Lake City.

In a battle of the league’s top two teams, the Trail Blazers erased a double-digit Jazz lead early in the fourth quarter by employing a trap defense. Utah made six turnovers in five minutes, and Kelvin Cato’s dunk cut Utah’s advantage to 81-74 with 7:20 left.

But Malone scored four points in an 8-2 Utah run that put the game out of reach. Portland, which had won five of its previous seven meetings with Utah, shot only 33% from the field in the second half.

The Jazz (33-10) moved 1 1/2 games in front of the Trail Blazers (31-11) for the league’s best record. Utah also clinched a postseason tiebreaker edge on Portland by winning two of three games in the season series.

Seattle 97, Vancouver 84--Don MacLean scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the SuperSonics won at Vancouver. The former UCLA star, coming off a 21-point, 10-rebound effort in a victory over Minnesota on Wednesday, has been filling in for Vin Baker, who’s out with an injured right knee. He was making his fourth straight start.

Sacramento 105, Minnesota 97--Jason Williams scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the third quarter at Sacramento as the Kings won their fourth in a row to remain tied with Seattle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

New York 110, Charlotte 105--Allan Houston scored a season-high 30 points and Patrick Ewing, playing his second game since returning from an Achilles’ tendon injury, had 26 as the Knicks won at New York to end the Hornets’ nine-game winning streak.

The Knicks, losers of their four previous games and playing for the first time since General Manager Ernie Grunfeld was fired Wednesday, vaulted over the Hornets into eighth place, the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto 95, Orlando 88--Vince Carter scored 24 points and the Raptors made 11 three-point shots at Orlando, Fla., to win their third straight road game.

The Raptors moved into a tie with the Knicks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Denver 96, Golden State 84--The Nuggets, playing for the first time in five days because of the school shooting in nearby Littleton, got a big game out of Antonio McDyess to beat the Warriors at Denver. McDyess had 25 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and four steals.

Nugget players wore black patches on their jerseys in honor of the shooting victims, and dedicated the game and the remainder of the season to the victims and their families.

Milwaukee 79, Cleveland 75--Glenn Robinson had 26 points and 17 rebounds and made the go-ahead basket with 1:17 left as the Bucks beat the Cavaliers at Milwaukee.

The Cavaliers played without Shawn Kemp, who has a sprained left foot, and Corie Blount, who has tendinitis in his left knee.

Boston 100, Chicago 71--The Celtics were playing their third game in three days but it was hard to tell as they won easily at Chicago.

Paul Pierce scored 18 points and Ron Mercer, who was back in the lineup after missing four games because of back spasms, added 13.

The Celtics ended a three-game losing streak and won the season series (2-1) over Chicago for the first time since 1985-86.

Atlanta 89, Washington 78--The Hawks used a big advantage at the foul line to win at Washington. They made 27 of 37 free throws to 10 of 15 for the Wizards in winning their fifth game in a row.

Around the League

Detroit Piston teammates Christian Laettner and Jerry Stackhouse got into a fistfight over a card game on the team plane, the Detroit Free Press reported, quoting an unidentified player who said he saw the fight. “I looked up and they were going at it, throwing blows,” the player said. “I wasn’t about to get in the middle of it.” One unidentified source told the newspaper the players were arguing over $2,000, and Stackhouse struck Laettner in the face. The Pistons were returning from a game at Charlotte. Team spokesman Matt Dobek said, “I was on the plane and nothing happened.” . . . The Knicks signed 6-foot-9 forward Mirsad Turkcan, who was averaging 11.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and shooting 51% for Efes Pisen, Turkey’s top-rated team. The Knicks acquired the rights to Turkcan from the Philadelphia 76ers on March 11 for a first-round pick. To make room for Turkcan, the Knicks placed forward Ben Davis on injured reserve.