Malone’s Chase of Record Is at Risk

Karl Malone’s torn knee ligament could cause him to sit out 40 games or more, and now the two-season parade to the all-time scoring record has become a bit more ambitious.

Malone arrived in Los Angeles with 36,374 career regular-season points and scored 336 for the Lakers before Scott Williams land- ed on his right knee Dec. 21, and so he took 36,710 points to his first injured-list assignment. He is in second place among NBA scorers, 1,677 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

He signed a two-year contract with the Lakers -- the second at his option -- and went about playing for what he hoped would be an NBA title, figuring, perhaps, that the scoring record would come with it. In two seasons, assuming 82 games each, Malone would have had to average 12.2 points.

For Malone, even at 40, it appeared a lock; he’d averaged more than twice that over 18 seasons in Utah and at least 20 in the last 17. He’d also sat out only 10 games in his career. And, in his first 24 games in Los Angeles, surrounded in a dynamic offense by scorers Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton, Malone found enough space to average 14 points, and many assumed that would rise as he became more comfortable with the triangle offense.

The Lakers revealed last week that Malone would require at least another month, and perhaps two, to recover, and it is possible he will play only 20 more games before the playoffs.

If he can play each of those 102 regular-season games over the next two seasons, he would have to average 16.4 points to match Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387, so perhaps a third season -- Malone would start his 21st season at 42 -- would be required. There is the possibility -- distinct, it appears -- that Bryant will leave the Lakers after the season, leaving more shots and a greater role in the offense behind.

While he admits a certain attraction to the record, Malone does not speak about it unless asked. Earlier in the season, he said he valued his place among the game’s all-time rebounders -- he stands sixth, behind Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone -- above the scoring record.

Malone said last week he would not play beyond his current contract simply to pass Abdul-Jabbar.

“Not just for that, no,” he said. “If I could contribute and I’m still wanted here, maybe. If the guys we have want me here, I’d consider it. But I’m not going to hang around to chase the record. I don’t want to be in anybody’s way.”

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The Lakers’ first trip of at least seven games in 12 years arrived Saturday with a 10 a.m. charter flight to Toronto and, by evening, temperatures in the mid-teens.

Coach Phil Jackson had hoped to have something close to roster-wide health by now, and instead Bryant suffered a severe cut on his right index finger and Malone still walks with a limp.

The trip runs straight into the All-Star break, straight into the heart of the Lakers’ hopes for home-court advantage for a series or two in the postseason. Payton had played well until a no-point, three-turnover, where-did-Sam-Cassell-go second half Friday night, and O’Neal is again the Lakers’ best player.

From there, however, there might not be much to count on, as youth (Kareem Rush, Luke Walton), inconsistency (Slava Medvedenko) and softness (Devean George) typically are exposed away from home. The Lakers have lost nine of 10 road games. Jackson might opt for longer minutes from his veterans -- Derek Fisher, Horace Grant, even Rick Fox -- as the Lakers push through the East.

Jackson said his goal was to win five games, just to “stay in the hunt in this thing,” meaning the Pacific Division. In the next breath, he admitted, “That’s a tall order. Without Kobe, that’s a tall order.... We just gotta go play it, that’s all.”

While some players were dreading the trip, others were more philosophical.

“I’m just happy because I have a job,” O’Neal said. Besides, he added with a smile, “You get to eat hotel food and watch pornos and all that stuff.”

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Mark Scoggins, a 27-year employee of the Lakers who rose to senior executive director of corporate sponsorships, has taken a position as president of business development for Magic Johnson Enterprises. Scoggins began as a peanut vendor at the Forum.... The Metro Blue Line Pico Station was named in honor of Chick Hearn last week.

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TODAY

at Toronto, 9:30 a.m. PST

Channel 9

Site -- Air Canada Centre.

Radio -- KLAC (570), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Lakers 27-16, Raptors 21-23.

Record vs. Raptors -- 1-0.

Update -- The Lakers have won five in a row in Toronto, having last lost there in 1996. The Raptors are last in the league in scoring, close to last in field-goal percentage, next-to-last in offensive rebounds. Vince Carter, who led all players in All-Star votes, averages 20.7 points.