Jazz Blaze Into Portland With 2-0 Lead

NBA

Karl Malone scored 30 points - eight in the final 4:44 - as Utah beat Portland 105-90 in Salt Lake City on Saturday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round matchup.

Malone hit 12 of 23 from the field and pulled down 14 rebounds for the Jazz, who beat Portland 110-102 in Thursday’s opener of the best-of-five series.

Utah’s John Stockton, who had 23 assists in Game 1, dished out 16 to go with 15 points.

Trailing by one point going into the final quarter, the Jazz went on a 10-0 run to take an 89-80 lead on consecutive layups by Stockton.

The series resumes Monday in Portland.

Jazz 105, Trail Blazers 90

Portland (90) - C.Robinson 5-15 4-4 16, Williams 2-3 2-3 7, Sabonis 8-19 10-15 26, Grant 2-8 0-0 5, Strickland 8-17 2-8 20, Dudley 2-3 2-2 6, R.Robinson 1-6 0-2 3, McKie 0-3 0-0 0, Wingfield 2-4 0-0 5, Trent 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 31-81 20-34 90.

Utah (105) - Benoit 6-9 2-2 17, Malone 12-23 6-11 30, Spencer 0-0 2-2 2, Hornacek 6-9 2-2 18, Stockton 5-8 5-7 15, Eisley 0-0 3-4 3, Russell 0-1 0-0 0, Ostertag 6-6 0-0 12, Carr 2-6 2-4 6, Keefe 0-0 0-0 0, Morris 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 38-64 22-32 105.

Portland 27 23 28 12 - 90

Utah 30 20 27 28 - 105

3-Point goals-Portland 8-22 (Strickland 2-2, C.Robinson 2-7, Williams 1-1, Wingfield 1-2, Grant 1-4, R.Robinson 1-4, Sabonis 0-1, McKie 0-1), Utah 7-9 (Hornacek 4-4, Benoit 3-3, Malone 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Portland 55 (Sabonis 12), Utah 45 (Malone 14). Assists-Portland 16 (Strickland 7), Utah 23 (Stockton 16). Total fouls-Portland 33, Utah 29. A-19,911 (19,911).

Lakers 104, Rockets 94 Inglewood, Calif.

Magic Johnson, who griped about his role in the Lakers’ playoff opener, had the run of the floor and scored 26 points in a win over Houston. The Rockets played the final 10 minutes without Hakeem Olajuwon.

The two-time defending NBA champions overcame an 11-point first quarter, their worst of the season, but the Lakers took command after Olajuwon, who hasn’t fouled out of a regular-season game in seven years, drew his sixth foul with 10:05 remaining.

Los Angeles ran off a 14-4 streak in a 3-minute span to take a 93-82 lead with 6 minutes left.

The best-of-five series is tied 1-1 and shifts to Houston for games Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Johnson, who complained to coach Del Harris about being stuck in the post and not handling the ball enough in an 87-83 loss to the Rockets on Thursday, scored on drives, short hooks, and often set up the Lakers’ plays from the outside as they evened the series.

Houston (94) - Horry 3-10 7-11 14, Brown 2-3 4-4 8, Olajuwon 8-11 2-4 18, Drexler 6-16 0-0 13, Smith 1-3 1-1 3, Cassell 10-20 0-0 22, Elie 3-7 0-0 6, Bryant 3-6 4-5 10, Mack 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-77 18-25 94.

L.A. Lakers (104) - Campbell 4-7 0-2 8, Ceballos 5-12 2-2 13, Divac 4-7 2-2 10, Jones 9-18 1-1 20, Van Exel 5-14 4-6 15, Peeler 3-11 4-4 12, Johnson 7-11 11-13 26, Threatt 0-2 0-0 0, Lynch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-83 24-30 104.

Houston 11 31 27 25 - 94

L.A. Lakers 24 25 25 30 - 104

3-Point goals-Houston 4-20 (Cassell 2-6, Horry 1-4, Drexler 1-6, Mack 0-1, Smith 0-1, Elie 0-2), L.A. 6-17 (Peeler 2-5, Johnson 1-1, Van Exekl 1-2, Ceballos 1-3, Jones 1-5, Threatt 0-1). Fouled out-Olajuwon, Campbell. Rebounds-Houston 40 (Horry, Olajuwon 7), L.A. 60 (Divac 12). Assists-Houston 22 (Cassell 8), L.A. 19 (Johnson 5). Total fouls-Houston 19, L.A. 19. Technicals-Horry, Houston coach Tomjanovich, Houston illegal defense, L.A. illegal defense. A-17,505 (17,505).

Knicks 84, Cavaliers 80

Cleveland Anthony Mason dominated the inside, collecting 23 points and 12 rebounds as New York beat Cleveland for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

The Knicks can wrap up the first round with a victory Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Cavaliers were 2-0 during the regular season.

The visiting team has won 12 of the last 14 New York-Cleveland meetings, including regular season and postseason games. The Knicks are 7-1 at Cleveland’s Gund Arena since it opened in 1994.

New York (84) - Mason 10-15 3-5 23, Oakley 4-9 0-0 8, Ewing 8-20 0-0 16, Starks 5-11 3-4 16, Harper 3-9 1-2 8, Davis 3-4 0-0 8, Williams 0-0 1-2 1, Ward 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 35-72 8-13 84.

Cleveland (80) - Mills 5-11 0-0 10, Ferry 6-17 0-0 12, Cage 4-7 2-4 10, Phills 4-13 0-0 8, Brandon 7-16 6-7 21, Majerle 4-12 0-0 11, Hill 4-5 0-1 8, Sura 0-0 0-0 0, Crotty 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-81 8-12 80.

New York 17 27 18 22 - 84

Cleveland 21 20 18 21 - 80

3-Point goals-New York 6-16 (Starks 3-6, Davis 2-2, Harper 1-5, Oakley 0-1, Ewing 0-1, Ward 0-1), Cleveland 4-23 (Majerle 3-10, Brandon 1-2, Phills 0-2, Mills 0-2, Ferry 0-7). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New York 48 (Mason, Ewing 12), Cleveland 45 (Cage 8). Assists-New York 25 (Starks 7), Cleveland 23 (Brandon 12). Total fouls-New York 16, Cleveland 20. Technicals-New York illegal defense. A-17,232 (20,562).

Pacers 102, Hawks 94 (OT)

Indianapolis

Rik Smits had 29 points, including five in overtime, as the Pacers held off Atlanta, tying their best-of-five first-round playoff series at 1-1.

Game 3 is Monday night at Atlanta.

The Hawks trailed by as many as 16 in the first half and by 13 in the fourth quarter before rallying. A 3-pointer by Craig Ehlo pulled the Hawks to 87-85 with 14.8 seconds left in regulation, and Atlanta got the ball back when Derrick McKey threw away the inbounds pass.

Steve Smith made a layup and Derrick McKey missed one at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime. Atlanta (94) - Augmon 3-5 4-5 10, Long 4-11 3-3 11, Laettner 5-10 4-6 14, Smith 9-21 4-4 25, Blaylock 4-11 2-2 12, Rooks 1-1 1-2 3, Ehlo 3-9 1-2 8, Henderson 4-5 0-0 8, Jordan 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 34-76 20-26 94.

Indiana (102) - McKey 5-11 3-4 14, D.Davis 3-10 1-3 7, Smits 13-20 3-3 29, Pierce 2-6 8-8 12, Jackson 6-10 4-6 16, A.Davis 3-5 3-3 9, Workman 0-6 2-2 2, Ferrell 1-5 1-2 3, Best 4-7 1-1 10. Totals 37-80 26-32 102.

Atlanta 15 27 19 26 7 - 94

Indiana 29 24 19 15 15 - 102

3-Point goals-Atlanta 6-18 (Smith 3-5, Blaylock 2-6, Ehlo 1-5, Long 0-2), Indiana 2-9 (Best 1-2, McKey 1-3, Pierce 0-1, Workman 0-1, Jackson 0-2). Fouled out-Long. Rebounds- Atlanta 46 (Laettner 9), Indiana 51 (D.Davis 12). Assists- Atlanta 16 (Blaylock 7), Indiana 18 (Jackson 9). Total fouls- Atlanta 28, Indiana 28. A-16,709 (16,530).