Malone delivers for Jazz against Lakers

LOS ANGELES - Karl Malone scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down 11 rebounds Wednesday night as the Utah Jazz ruined the Los Angeles Lakers' celebration by beating the defending NBA champions 97-92.

John Stockton had 21 points and 14 assists and Bryon Russell added 18 points for the Jazz, who took the lead for good in the opening three minutes but had to hold off the Lakers in the late going for their second straight victory.

Before the game, the Lakers raised their seventh championship banner and received their championship rings in a 15-minute ceremony. They won their first title since 1988 last June, beating the Indiana Pacers in the finals.

But it was the Jazz celebrating afterward, thanks mainly to their aging superstars - the 37-year-old Malone and 38-year-old Stockton.

The Lakers were a two-man team for the most part offensively, as Shaquille O'Neal scored 34 points and Kobe Bryant added 31. O'Neal also had 15 rebounds, but shot only 6-of-18 on free throws.

The Jazz entered the fourth quarter with a 65-56 lead. The Lakers got as close as six points before a jumper by Malone and a dunk by Russell off an assist from Stockton made it 84-74 with four minutes remaining.

However, the Lakers battled back, and a jumper by Bryant with 1:19 left made it 89-88.

With a chance to take the lead, the Lakers committed a turnover, and Malone made a jumper with 33.9 seconds left to give Utah a three-point lead. Quincy Lewis made two free throws shortly thereafter.

Perhaps still mentally involved in the pre-game celebration, the Lakers were outhustled and outplayed in every aspect of a sub-par first half, which ended with the Jazz leading 44-31.

The Jazz scored the first five points of the second period for a 12-point lead, and a 12-1 run extended Utah's advantage to 18 before O'Neal scored all of his team's points in a 6-1 run to close the half.

Notes:

The game was the first between the teams at Staples Center since the Lakers handed Utah a 113-67 setback last February, the most lopsided loss for the Jazz in nearly 14 years. It was the first of 19 straight Los Angeles wins... Malone finished the game 345 points behind Wilt Chamberlain, the second-leading scorer in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a member of five NBA championship teams with the Lakers in the 1980s, is No. 1 with 38,387 points in a record 20 seasons. ... Lakers forward Robert Horry missed the game to be in Alabama for his grandmother's funeral. Horry, who also missed Tuesday night's season-opening 96-86 win at Portland, is expected to rejoin the Lakers in time to play in Vancouver on Saturday. ... Stockton, the NBA's all-time leader in assists, needs to play in only 11 more games to surpass John Havlicek's NBA record of 1,270 games with the same team. ... Los Angeles reserves missed their first 13 shots and were held scoreless until Brian Shaw made a jumper with 11:05 left in the game. Isaiah Rider scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter.