NBA ROUNDUP : Malones Help Jazz Win the Midwest

Karl Malone scored 28 points in 28 minutes and Jeff Malone had 26 points as the Utah Jazz clinched their first Midwest Division title since 1989 with a 113-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Thursday night at Salt Lake City.

The 50th victory of the season for the Jazz left them five games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs with five games to play. Utah won the season series, 3-1, over the Spurs, who edged the Jazz by one game the last two seasons.

The division title assures Utah of at least the second seeding position in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. But the Jazz still need to beat Golden State and Phoenix in order to have homecourt advantage in the second round.

With the division title in hand, the Jazz can concentrate on catching the Warriors, whom they trail by one game, and staying ahead of the Suns, who fell half a game behind Utah with a loss at Seattle.

But for players like Karl Malone, who watched the division slip away the last two years, a brief celebration was in order.

“I think it takes the monkey off our backs after the last couple of years,” he said. “The division is great to have, but we’re still jockeying for position. We can still catch some people.”

Herb Williams scored 20 points for the Mavericks, who lost their 26th consecutive road game and 19th of 21 outings overall.

Houston 117, Minnesota 102--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 26 points as the Rockets won their fourth consecutive game by beating the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Otis Thorpe had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets (41-36), who moved half a game ahead of the Lakers, who lost to San Antonio, for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth.

Guards Sleepy Floyd and Avery Johnson also played major roles after point guard Kenny Smith sustained a first-half ankle injury. Floyd scored 19 points, including two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and Johnson had seven assists.

Pooh Richardson and Thurl Bailey scored 21 points apiece as the Timberwolves lost for the 18th time in 21 games.

Seattle 119, Phoenix 104--Nate McMillan had 14 points, 12 assists and six steals at Seattle as the SuperSonics won their fifth in a row.

Shawn Kemp had 17 points and 14 rebounds for Seattle, which stayed even with San Antonio in the Western Conference playoff race.

Dan Majerle scored 25 points and Steve Burtt a career-high 23 for the Suns, who fell 1 1/2 games behind Golden State.

Kevin Johnson, the Suns’ second-leading scorer, dressed for the game but did not play because of an ingrown toenail on his left big toe.

Cleveland 141, Charlotte 134-- Larry Nance had his second career triple-double and Steve Kerr scored a career-high 23 points as the Cavaliers beat the Hornets at Richfield, Ohio, and clinched home-court advantage through two rounds of the playoffs.

Nance had 26 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists for his first triple-double as a Cavalier. He also had one for Phoenix in 1985.

The Cavaliers won for the 13th time in 14 home games and sealed the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind Chicago.

Orlando 96, Atlanta 94--Scott Skiles’ 17-foot jump shot with 1:30 remaining put Orlando in front, and the Magic held the Hawks scoreless the rest of the game to win at Orlando.

The Hawks, held to 13 points in the fourth quarter, fell into eighth place in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of Miami.

Stacey Augmon scored 22 points and Kevin Willis had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks. Willis was limited to three points and two rebounds in the fourth period.

Sacramento 124, Denver 107--Lionel Simmons had 32 points and 12 rebounds at Sacramento as the Kings handed the Nuggets their ninth loss in a row.

Duane Causwell scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half and also grabbed 12 rebounds for Sacramento.

Marcus Liberty scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who remained winless in April.