Airing Dirty Laundry

Summarizing the mood of the Houston Rocket organization Monday morning: Karl Malone is evil and ... well, that about covers it.

Over the weekend, Malone was under the basket when Bostjan Nachbar flew and in the lane when Yao Ming toppled, unapologetically.

He is 40 years old and they must have thought he was finished, because when Malone has been on the wing with the basketball in his hands, the closest Rocket has been Jeff Van Gundy, arms crossed, sending double-teams to Kobe Bryant.

In the hours after the Lakers had taken a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, Malone was described as a “studio gangster” by Cuttino Mobley and called “bull” by team owner Les Alexander, according to the Houston Chronicle. Also, Steve Francis was quoted: “You know what kind of dirt he brings to the game.”

Alexander, who had publicly called for Malone’s suspension, was seen Sunday evening, speaking into league vice president Stu Jackson’s ear, but an NBA official said the league was satisfied Malone’s deeds were within acceptable parameters.

“I love him too,” Malone said of Alexander. “I’ll never be looking for a job from him, and I wouldn’t know who he is if he walked through the door. I can care less about him, really and truly.”

Coach Phil Jackson said, “It’s the way Karl’s always played. I saw no difference in the way he played that ballgame and the way he played for 17 years, 19 years, whatever.

“I thought there was nothing beyond the level where that guy plays at. This is the way he plays basketball.”

It is because of Malone that the Lakers will play Wednesday night to finish off the Rockets and get on to the San Antonio Spurs. He scored 30 points Sunday, has averaged nearly 22 points over the last three games, has poked his forefinger into nearly everything red and has taken up the struggle when Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant have lapsed.

On Monday morning, he handed his 8-year-old son, Karl Jr., the jersey he had worn Sunday night, purple and torn and damp with sweat. When he learned from his brother, Terry, that he’d gone where few 40-somethings had in the postseason, he put aside his shoes and secured a box score too.

Then it became like another day, like thousands before, one game behind him and another ahead.

“I came here, lifted, a full-body lift, shot with the guys, didn’t run,” he said Monday. “I’m going to go over there and do some work. I’ll go home and eat some crab legs and hang out with the family and” -- his voice lowered -- “have me a cigar.”

He smiled. Perhaps he is only too pleased to be the villain again after a season spent in the shadows of O’Neal, Bryant and the injured list.

Before Game 4, Malone hadn’t scored more than 20 points in a game as a Laker, and he’d never been more involved in their offense, his combined 28 shots and free throws a season high. He rebounded and warded off the likes of Francis -- a “gnat”, Malone said -- by flaring his thick arms.

After a three-for-14 Game 1, Laker coaches and teammates had all but begged Malone to keep shooting. He is 27 for 47 from the field since, and the Lakers have scored in the 90s in all three of those games. Bryant has averaged more points, 22.8, and O’Neal has shot better, 52.8%, but neither has had Malone’s end-to-end impact.

After the first game, O’Neal said, “He said he was going to make Van Gundy respect him.”

And so Malone has had at it, playing through the era-long notion that in this organization, O’Neal and Bryant get the shots, everybody else gets back on D, and then they all stand together on the podium. For a week, Malone has taken the open shots and passed to the open man, pretty basic, and the offense has been better for it.

“As long as I can do what I’m doing within our offense, and in the defensive scheme of things, I’ll take that,” Malone said. “But I don’t want to get to the point that, ‘OK, I had a decent game and I want to have another one, so I’m going to take every shot that’s available.’ ”

It seems unlikely. Malone amassed the second-most points in NBA history with a pass-first habit, along with a tenacity that has annoyed other owners, other coaches, other players.

“This is what I’ve watched him do for years, and this is why the Jazz got to 18 straight playoffs,” Rick Fox said. “He’s played 20 years and to survive to the age of 40 in this league, he brings intensity.

“We don’t win a championship without Karl Malone. He changes the game.”