Jazz Finally Trumps the Kings

The Utah Jazz played a game that would have made Jerry Sloan happy if the fiery coach had been around to see the end of it.

Greg Ostertag had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots as the Jazz beat the Sacramento Kings, 107-104, Saturday night to cut the Kings’ lead in the opening-round playoff series to 2-1. Sloan was ejected in the third quarter after getting called for his second technical.

Unlike the first two games when Utah started strong in the first quarter and collapsed in the second, the Jazz stayed intense for most of the game.

Karl Malone had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, which hasn’t been swept in the playoffs since 1989.

Chris Webber, who missed practice all week because of a sore lower back, had 24 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 1:57 left.

New Orleans 99, Philadelphia 85 -- The Hornets didn’t need Jamal Mashburn to claw back into their first-round playoff series. A hobbled Baron Davis turned out to be enough.

Davis, wearing a thick blue sleeve over his strained and bruised left knee, scored 28 points at New Orleans, giving the Hornets their first victory in the series in which they trail, 2-1. Game 4 is Monday.

Jamaal Magloire and P.J. Brown followed through on their promise to be more forceful inside. Magloire had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Brown had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Jerome Moiso, playing for the first time in the series, scored 10 points, all in the fourth quarter as the Hornets pulled away.

Allen Iverson led the 76ers with 28 points, but he had only eight in the second half when he wasn’t much of a factor.

Mashburn, the Hornets’ leading scorer, dislocated and chipped a bone in his right middle finger during Wednesday’s loss in Philadelphia.

Davis reaggravated a left knee injury when he landed awkwardly after a layup in Game 1 of the series at Philadelphia, then sat out Game 2.

Milwaukee 119, New Jersey 114 -- The Bucks squandered a 14-point lead in the final six minutes of regulation at Milwaukee, and they probably would have lost the game if the Nets had made a few free throws.

Toni Kukoc made two big three-pointers in overtime and Michael Redd added a third as Milwaukee defeated New Jersey to even their first-round series at two games apiece.

Game 5 is Tuesday at New Jersey.

Milwaukee managed only one free throw over the final six minutes of regulation. But the Nets, despite scoring 14 unanswered points to tie the game 99-99, missed nine free throws in the final 3:49.

Kukoc came off the bench to lead Milwaukee with 23 points, and Gary Payton had 20 points and 14 assists, tying his career-high for a playoff game.

Kenyon Martin led New Jersey with 30 points. Richard Jefferson added a career playoff-high 28 points.