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Tuesday, May 20, 1997

Jazz hand Rockets 101-86 setback

By CHRIS SHERIDAN

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY - The commissioner brought the trophy and the winner graciously accepted. Then the rest of the Utah Jazz went out and showed why Karl Malone has been thanking them so much.

Utah's supporting cast bolstered Malone's steady, if unspectacular, performance on the night he received the MVP award as the Jazz opened the Western Conference finals with a 101-86 romp over the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Jeff Hornacek scored 19 points, John Stockton had 16 points and 13 assists and the rest of the team made strong contributions to back Malone's 21-point, 13-rebound effort.

Malone also had five turnovers and shot just 6-for-16 from the field, but the occasional sloppiness didn't matter to his adoring crowd.

The Jazz fans gave Malone a standing ovation when commissioner David Stern presented him with the trophy in a pregame ceremony. They did it again - along with a chant of "M-V-P" - when Malone went to the bench with 2:48 remaining and Utah leading 97-80.

Game 2 in the best-of-7 series is Wednesday night.

Hakeem Olajuwon led Houston with 30 points, but he didn't score in the fourth period.

Clyde Drexler scored 13, Charles Barkley had 12 and Mario Elie 10 for Houston, which was playing just two days after finishing off Seattle in a seven-game series.

Utah, on the other hand, hadn't played in a week. And once the Jazz shook off the rust after 12 minutes or so, the Rockets could never come all the way back.

Rookie Shandon Anderson scored 11 points off the bench and third-string center Greg Foster scored all nine of his points in the second period to help Utah take command.

The Jazz, who have won their last 20 home games, outshot Houston 44 percent to 38 percent and finished with only 15 turnovers after committing eight in the first quarter.

Houston shot just 38 percent, including a 3-for-10 effort from Barkley and a 2-for-9 evening for Matt Maloney. Olajuwon, who was 9-of-14 from the field and 12-for-17 from the line, was the only member of the Rockets to shoot above 50 percent.

Olajuwon, Barkley and Drexler accounted for 20 of Houston's 23 points as the Rockets led 23-20 after one period.

With Malone on the bench, Utah went on a 10-0 run early in the second quarter for a 30-24 lead. Foster scored nine points for Utah in the first seven minutes of the quarter before Malone returned with the Jazz leading by six.

The margin stayed about the same until Stockton ended the half with a 3-point heave from 26 feet that banked in to give Utah a 49-40 lead.

Utah quickly bumped its lead to double digits early in the third quarter, then answered the pair of runs Houston made.

After a layup by Olajuwon made it 63-54, Hornacek scored on a drive, the Jazz stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Hornacek made a 3-pointer. After a Houston turnover, Hornacek was fouled by Mario Elie on a layup attempt, and Elie was given a technical foul for arguing.

Hornacek made all three shots, and all of a sudden Utah's lead was 17.

The Rockets trailed 79-65 entering the fourth and pulled within nine points twice before Utah pulled away. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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