SALT LAKE CITY -- The MVP finally had the kind of game everyone was waiting for. Karl Malone had his highest-scoring game of the Western Conference finals with 29 points and shut down Charles Barkley defensively Tuesday night as the Utah Jazz moved within one victory of the NBA Finals with a 96-91 win over the Houston Rockets.

Malone, who had been saying "I'm due" for the better part of a week, made 11 of 22 shots and grabbed 14 rebounds. Several of his shots were rally-killers in the second half against the Rockets, who fell behind for good in the second quarter but refused to go down easily.

Malone, who averaged 27.4 points on 55 percent shooting this season but just 22 points on 43 percent this series, finally locked up the victory with two free throws with 13 seconds left that gave Utah a 96-89 lead.

"Sometimes you forget what Karl Malone can do for your team, but when the game's all done you notice. He came up with a heck of a game tonight," Jazz guard John Stockton said.

"I knew Karl was going to come back ready to play. You can't ever guarantee you're going to shoot the ball well or not turn it over or all those things but I knew Karl was going to come ready to play and he certainly did."

It was the 21st straight home victory for the Jazz, who haven't lost at the Delta Center since Feb. 23. They will look to wrap up the series Thursday night in Houston, but they'll have to become the first team to win a road game in this series.

Six Utah players scored in double figures. Stockton had another strong game with 17 points, Bryon Russell scored 13, Jeff Hornacek 11 and reserves Howard Eisley and Antoine Carr had 10 each.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 33 points for Houston, while Clyde Drexler had 15 and Matt Maloney 14. Barkley, who unsuccessfully tried to draw Malone into a trash-talking duel in the first half, finished with just 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. And he did almost nothing after making two 3-pointers in the first 3« minutes of the game.

Part of the reason was Malone, who held his ground against Barkley in one-on-one isolations better than he did last weekend when the Rockets won two straight games to tie the series.

"We got the ball to Karl in the same places we got it to him Sunday," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "He seemed to be a little rushed Sunday because Olajuwon's so quick to the ball. Tonight he got the ball a few more times where he likes it. We set good screens for him and he had a solid game."

Utah took the lead for good on a jumper off the fast break by Stockton with 6:36 left in the second quarter that made it 37-36. The lead fluctuated between one and nine points the rest of the way, and Houston still had a chance to catch up late in the fourth quarter.

Barkley made the second of two foul shots with 2:27 left to pull the Rockets to 92-87, but Hornacek answered with an high-arcing layup over the outstretched arm of Olajuwon.

Olajuwon made two foul shots with 1:38 left to make it 94-89, and Stockton threw the ball away on Utah's next possession. But with a chance to pull within three, Olajuwon missed a jumper from the lane--the same shot he has been killing the Jazz with throughout the series.

Barkley then blocked Malone's jumper and forced a jump ball, but Malone, with the crowd chanting "M-V-P, M-V-P" for the first time all night, won the jump ball and the Jazz got a fresh 24-second shot clock.

Malone was fouled with 13 seconds left, and he made both free throws to put the Jazz in position to go where they've never gone--the NBA Finals--after four appearances in the conference finals over the past six years.

Olajuwon had 18 points and Russell 13 to lead their teams in scoring in the first half. Neither team pulled very far ahead--the Rockets' biggest lead was five points and the Jazz's was three, and Utah led 47-44 at the break.

Utah finally started to pull away midway through the third quarter after Drexler scored four straight points to pull Houston to 57-56.

Malone scored nine straight Utah points and Howard Eisley had five, including a 3-pointer for the last points of the quarter, as the Jazz closed the period with a 14-8 run that gave them a 71-64 lead entering the fourth.

Olajuwon scored only two points in the third quarter and Barkley had three. Maloney helped keep Houston in it with eight points in the period, including two 3-pointers.

Notes: Barkley had a running dialogue with fans seated beneath the Jazz's second-half basket. He also mouthed expletives at a woman sitting behind Houston's bench. --- Jazz rookie Shandon Anderson didn't arrive until an hour before gametime after flying to Atlanta to be with his terminally ill father. Anderson's brother, Willie, plays for the Miami Heat. --- Jazz owner Larry Miller participated in warmups, helping out with the rebounding when Utah was shooting around. ... Utah was 38-3 at home during the regular season, the second-best record in the league behind Chicago's 39-2 mark. --- Utah outrebounded Houston 35-32. The team that has won the rebounding battle has been the victor in each game. --- Utah was 25-for-28 at the foul line.

Back to "Drive for the Title"