Malone Tops 2,000 Points For 10th Consecutive Year

Around the NBA

Karl Malone reached 2,000 points for a record 10th straight season as Utah beat Vancouver 106-79 Friday night in Salt Lake City for its 11th consecutive victory.

Malone, who needed only one point to extend the record he already held, dribbled a 4-foot hook over the rim for his first basket. Malone finished with 16 points, three rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes, little more than half his 37.4-minute average, as the Jazz won for the 16th time in 17 games. Vancouver has lost six straight.

Bryon Russell had 14 points and Jeff Hornacek 13 for Utah. John Stockton, who played only 21 minutes, had 12 assists to go with seven points.

Malone, according to an informal poll of 42 of those who vote for NBA awards, got more votes for the league’s Most Valuable Player than Chicago Bulls’ star Michael Jordan.

In all, 19 said Malone was their first choice, compared with 11 who said they definitely preferred Jordan.

Of nine voters who said they were merely leaning toward one player or the other, seven said they liked Malone, two favored Jordan. Three voters said they remained undecided.

Elsewhere on the courts

At Philadelphia, Travis Best came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points as the Indiana Pacers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 114-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Isaiah Rider scored 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 108-93 victory over visiting Milwaukee for the Blazers’ 15th win in their past 18 games.

In Atlanta, Christian Laettner scored 30 points, including 12 straight in the third period, to help build an 18-point lead, and the Atlanta Hawks defeated Detroit 103-89 to pull into a tie with the Pistons for the all-important fourth playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

At Inglewood, Calif., Dominique Wilkins scored 28 points as the San Antonio Spurs defeated Los Angeles 94-83 to end the Lakers’ five-game winning streak.

At Chicago, Scottie Pippen, scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the first half, had 15 third-quarter points as the Chicago Bulls took control and went on to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 84-71.

Kevin Johnson scored 24 points and Danny Manning added 20 as the visiting Phoenix Suns posted their eighth straight victory, a 122-113 decision over a Denver Nuggets team that lost leading scorer LaPhonso Ellis to a probable ruptured right Achilles tendon in the second quarter.

Pitino change unlikely

Rick Pitino made two things clear Friday. He is not likely to leave the University of Kentucky to take over the Celtics. And Larry Bird must be part of the Boston management team for him to even consider the move.

“The chances of me leaving Kentucky are extremely remote,” he said in a telephone interview following a book-signing in Lexington, Ky. “If I was interested in the Boston Celtics, it would not be without Larry Bird. It could not go without Larry Bird.”

The prospect of a Bird-Pitino management team has had some Celtics fans salivating, especially since it was revealed that Bird contacted Pitino on two occasions to discuss the job.

Prices going up

Barring a major collapse, the Minnesota Timberwolves will make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

The team’s fans will pay for it next season.

The Timberwolves said they’re increasing ticket prices.

“No organization ever enjoys passing on an increase directly to its fans,” Timberwolves president Rob Moor said. “But we are determined to make the Timberwolves a franchise that can challenge for the NBA title on an ongoing basis.”

Notes

Funeral services will be conducted today for former Boston Celtic Dan Swartz, 65, who died in Mount Sterling, Ky., Thursday of an apparent heart attack. … The Chicago Bulls will auction several items from their archives to benefit the NBA team’s charitable arm, CharitaBulls.