Jazz Win Doesn’t Get Old

The old dog may have a couple of old war wounds and walk with a slight limp, but he still has enough bite to chase away some of the younger dogs in the NBA, at least figuratively speaking.

The Utah players, still seeking their first league championship, may not be getting any younger, but Monday night the young-pup Clippers learned firsthand that the Jazz still knows how to play.

With Staples Center a little more than half filled, Utah rode the play of veterans Karl Malone and Jeff Hornacek to defeat the Clippers, 94-79, before 9,686.

“We have to be able to execute because we’re not good enough to take people one-on-one,” Utah Coach Jerry Sloan said. “We never have.”

The Jazz woke up Monday with the same sub-.500 record as the Clippers at 1-2, and Sloan drove his team hard from the opening tip. Despite having a double-digit lead for most of the second half, Sloan did not rest his regulars until less than three minutes remained in the game.

Malone, 36, led Utah with 24 points and nine rebounds. Hornacek, 36, added 16 points and John Stockton, 37, had 11 points and 10 assists as the Jazz shot 48.7% from the floor and outrebounded the Clippers, 44-36.

Rookie Lamar Odom, the Clippers’ leading scorer and rebounder over the first three games, had an off game with only 10 points on two-of-10 shooting. Odom didn’t seem to be in flow all night, turning the ball over five times.

“I was just off . . . I could feel it in the layup line [before the game],” Odom said. “I tried to start the game off by getting something easy, but I couldn’t even do that. I got stripped a couple times, missed some shots in close. . . . I wasn’t able to do anything.”

Hornacek helped Utah take a 25-16 lead at the end of one quarter with 12 points on six-of-eight shooting. Hornacek’s hot shooting helped the Jazz overcome a slow start by Malone, who missed all four shots in the quarter.

Utah’s stingy defense took the Clippers out of their game early. Odom, who came into the game averaging 23.7 points, was forced to stay on the perimeter along with Maurice Taylor, who missed four of his first seven shots.

The Clippers rallied some in the second quarter, but the Jazz never lost control of the game. Every time the Clippers got close, Utah was there to make an answer basket.

“We play better when we are not looking for that quick shot,” Sloan said about the Jazz. “We took our opportunities without forcing things.”

In the second quarter, Utah’s reserves got into the act with Pete Chilcutt scoring six consecutive points, Bryon Russell playing tough defense on Odom and Jacque Vaughn running the offense, leading Utah to a 45-35 halftime lead.

“They’ve been running the same sets for years and years,” Clipper Coach Chris Ford said before the game. “You can’t a mistake defensively. You can’t turn your head or lose your man for a split-second, Malone or Stockton are going to find them. It’s fun to watch on videotape against someone else. It’s the precision that they execute . . . the passes Stockton and Malone can make . . . it’s their ability to find that open man.”

The Clippers opened the third quarter with a 6-2 run, but before they could get any closer Malone, who had only eight points in the first half, got hot.

Malone scored 10 of Utah’s next 12 points and following two free throws by Scott Padgett, the Clippers were down by 12, taking the crowd out of the game.

Sloan was not surprised by Malone’s slow start.

“That happens a lot where I don’t think he forces anything,” Sloan said. “He lets the game come to him, and he’s done that for many years.”

Trailing, 70-56, at the start of the fourth quarter, the Clippers lost any hope they had for a comeback when Howard Eisley and Russell combined for six quick points to help stretch Utah’s lead to 79-64.

“We had nice looks at the basket but we couldn’t get our shots to fall,” Hudson said. “We would get a few baskets and then nothing else. A couple people would get hot and then they would score and [end the Clippers’ rally].”

Things do not get any easier for the Clippers because the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs make their Staples Center debut on Wednesday.