Utah 88, Chicago 85

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3

John Stockton had so much rest he was able to carry Karl Malone.

Stockton would not allow Malone to repeat his Game One flameout of last year, scoring seven of his 24 points in overtime and adding eight assists as the Utah Jazz fought off the Chicago Bulls, 88-85, in the NBA Finals opener.

Karl Malone had 21 points and 14 rebounds in Game 1 despite shooting just 9-of-25 from the floor.

Playing for the first time in 10 days, the Jazz were rested. But Malone was rusty, making just 9-of-25 shots from the field and nearly costing his team home-court advantage. He finally found the range in the fourth quarter and gave the Jazz the lead for good with the first basket of overtime as he finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Stockton set up that drive, then converted a three-point play to give Utah an 84-79 lead with 3:28 to go. After the Bulls closed within two points in the final minute, Stockton took Steve Kerr off the dribble and made a runner in the lane for an 86-82 lead with 9.3 seconds left.

After a three-pointer by Chicago's Toni Kukoc, Stockton made two free throws that stood up when a three-pointer by Scottie Pippen sailed long at the buzzer. Michael Jordan scored 33 points for Chicago, but missed a drive and committed a key turnover in overtime.

Stockton shot 9-of-12 from the field and scored Utah's last seven points in the first Finals overtime game since Game One of the 1995 series between Houston and Orlando. The Jazz dealt the Bulls their fourth straight road playoff loss.

The Jazz scored two points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter until Malone finally found a shot he could make, hammering home a pair of dunks to give Utah a 73-66 lead. Two quick jumpers by Jordan and a three-pointer by Pippen tied it, 75-75, with 2:34 to go.

After missing jumpers all game, Malone stepped out on the left wing and made a pair around a miss by Jordan, erasing the memory of last year's Game One washout and giving the Jazz a four-point lead with 55 seconds remaining.

Pippen drove for a pair of quick free throws and rebounded Jordan's miss with 23 seconds left. Jordan drew the defense and found Longley for a short banker over Malone that tied it with 14 seconds left. Stockton missed a shot at the end of regulation.

After the usual deafening Delta Center introductions that included thousands of balloons dropped from the rafters and burst by the fans, it was hard to tell which team had been off for 10 days.

Both teams shot poorly in the opening quarter, which ended in a 17-17 tie. Utah was 7-of-20, missing a handful of layups. Chicago shot 7-of-19, including a combined 3-of-11 by Pippen and Kukoc.

The Bulls went right to Jordan in the post, with the Jazz double-teaming. His jumper over Hornacek and a steal and slam by Pippen gave Chicago an 8-5 lead just over 3 1/2 minutes into the contest.

Longley, who was guarding Malone, drew his second foul and sat down with 4:09 left. Pippen's two free throws gave the Bulls a 17-13 lead, but baskets by Morris and Malone tied it and triggered a 10-0 run. Malone shot 2-of-6 in the period, while Jordan was 2-of-5.

Rodman entered, Jordan sat to start the second quarter and Eisley kept the Jazz running with a jumper and a feed to Anderson for a layup. Russell dunked to push the lead to 23-17 with 9:42 remaining. A basket by Kukoc ended a 6:21 field-goal drought for the Bulls.

Jordan returned and made two jumpers and two free throws before Kerr gave Chicago its first bench points with a jumper with 5:49 left. But Utah's reserves already had scored 14 points -- six by Eisley and four apiece from Anderson and Morris.

Stockton dueled Jordan over the final four minutes of the first half. His free throw gave Utah a 36-29 lead with 3:18 left before Jordan scored three times from the post, cutting the deficit to 39-37 with 1:27 remaining. But Stockton answered with three baskets of his own, offsetting another three-point play by Jordan and giving the Jazz a 45-40 lead at the half.

Jordan had 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but his teammates were just 9-of-23. Stockton made 6-of-7 shots for 13 points and the bench contributed 16 points, compensating for Malone, who shot 3-of-8.

Malone missed his first four shots of the third quarter as he continually settled for jumpers. He finally got untracked with a left-handed layup with 3:25 remaining that gave the Jazz a 61-55 lead. Jordan answered with a leaner, giving him 1,000 career Finals points.

Hornacek, who was scoreless in the first half, made a pair of drives and Russell hit a jumper as the Jazz took a 67-59 lead to the final period. Hornacek and Russell scored six points apiece in the third quarter.

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