Jazz Win One For The Book

NBA playoffs

Utah had playoff history to make, and Jeff Hornacek and Karl Malone were in a hurry to do it.

Hornacek scored 28 points and Malone had 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 104-92 Monday night at Los Angeles, sweeping a team out of the playoffs for the first time in the club’s 24 postseason appearances.

The Jazz, who had a franchise-record 64 regular-season wins, wrapped up the best-of-five series with three consecutive victories. They earned a five-day rest before opening the second round Sunday against the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Portland series at Salt Lake City.

Loy Vaught scored 20 points and Brent Barry added 17 for the Clippers, who made the playoffs for the first time in four years.

The Jazz hit a cold spell in the fourth quarter, going 6:08 without a field goal while the Clippers got within 10 points on three free throws by Malik Sealy 4:01 remaining.

Jazz 104, Clippers 92

Utah (104) - Russell 4-7 1-5 9, Malone 8-16 10-10 26, Ostertag 2-3 0-0 4, Stockton 4-10 4-4 12, Hornacek 9-12 7-8 28, Eisley 3-4 1-1 8, Foster 1-3 0-0 2, Anderson 0-2 0-2 0, Morris 3-6 1-2 8, Carr 3-5 1-2 7, Howard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-68 25-34 104.

L.A. Clippers (92) - Vaught 9-13 1-3 20, Rogers 7-15 0-0 15, Wright 4-8 0-0 8, Martin 2-7 1-2 6, Sealy 3-6 6-8 13, Barry 4-10 7-8 17, Outlaw 1-1 0-4 2, Murray 1-5 2-2 4, Piatkowski 1-3 0-0 3, Manning 1-3 0-0 2, Dehere 0-0 0-0 0, Richardson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 34-72 17-27 92.

Utah 32 26 22 24 - 104

L.A. Clippers 24 18 21 29 - 92

3-Point goals-Utah 5-13 (Hornacek 3-4, Eisley 1-1, Morris 1-2, Anderson 0-1, Russell 0-2, Stockton 0-3), Los Angeles 7-19 (Barry 2-4, Vaught 1-2, Martin 1-2, Sealy 1-3, Piatkowski 1-2, Rogers 1-4, Murray 0-2). Fouled out-Sealy. Rebounds- Utah 55 (Malone 13), Los Angeles 33 (Vaught, Wright 7). Assists-Utah 19 (Stockton 13), Los Angeles 16 (Martin 5). Total fouls-Utah 27, Los Angeles 26. A-11,747 (16,021).

Knicks 104, Hornets 95

Charlotte, N.C.

New York made more than 50 percent of its field goals for the third straight game as the Knicks completed a first-round sweep of Charlotte.

Former Hornet Larry Johnson had 22 points to lead seven players in double figures for New York, which advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.

The Knicks will meet either the Miami Heat or Orlando Magic. The Heat holds a 2-0 lead in that series.

The Knicks finished the series shooting 57 percent in recording their first sweep since ousting the Philadelphia 76ers in three games in the opening round of the 1989 playoffs.

New York (104) - Johnson 9-12 2-2 22, Oakley 4-5 2-2 10, Ewing 6-12 4-6 16, Childs 3-8 2-2 10, Houston 7-11 2-3 20, Starks 4-8 7-8 16, B.Williams 4-8 2-2 10, Ward 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 37-66 21-25 104.

Charlotte (95) - Mason 7-15 0-2 14, Rice 8-17 4-4 22, Divac 4-11 5-7 13, Bogues 7-13 2-2 19, Curry 4-7 0-0 9, Pierce 5-11 0-0 11, Delk 1-7 0-0 3, Royal 0-1 0-0 0, Geiger 1-1 0-0 2, Rose 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 38-86 11-15 95.

New York 38 20 21 25 - 104

Charlotte 31 18 24 22 - 95

3-Point goals-New York 9-17 (Houston 4-7, Johnson 2-4, Childs 2-4, Starks 1-2), Charlotte 8-16 (Bogues 3-4, Rice 2-6, Curry 1-1, Pierce 1-2, Delk 1-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New York 47 (Ewing 11), Charlotte 38 (Mason 11). Assists-New York 23 (Johnson, Childs 5), Charlotte 24 (Rice 9). Total fouls-New York 16, Charlotte 22. A-24,042 (24,042).

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TODAY’S GAMES Miami at Orlando, 4 p.m. (TBS) Atlanta at Detroit, 5 p.m. (TNT) Houston at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m. (TBS) Seattle at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)