The Minnesota Timberwolves tried what they could Monday night to stop Karl Malone, but it was obvious only too soon that nothing short of a hand grenade was going to work. He made his first shot of the night, a 15-footer from the baseline. He powered into the lane for a layup. He lifted off for a 16-footer from the corner, then landed one from the top of the key. All the Timberwolves could do was hide under the covers. The Mailman was on the loose.
Two nights after a sub-par 19-point game and a loss to Atlanta, the Mailman was back, going into the lane like a one-man trucking firm. "He took it personal," said teammate Jeff Malone. "I think he wanted to come out and get off to a good start, and he did. He was going to the basket strong. He's tough to stop when he plays like that."Malone's opening, though, was just the warmup to a dominating night: sixteen-for-twenty from the field, 12 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. He finished with 38 points as the Jazz routed Minnesota, 112-91 at the Target Center.
"You ask any guy who's played in this game, when you get on a roll you think everything you do is going to work," said Malone.
Although the Mailman doesn't normally meet with much opposition against the poor Timberwolves, he didn't exactly run over them in the first two games, either. In the first matchup this year, he got off only eight shots and totaled 16 points in a 110-91 victory in Salt Lake. Three weeks later at the Delta Center, he upped his shots to 14 and his points to 21, as the Jazz won again by 19.
But nothing fully prepared the Wolves' for the Mailman's third ring. Twelve minutes into the game he had 10 points, the final two coming in on a rebound shot at the first-quarter buzzer. He sat out the early second period, but 14 seconds after returning, he pumped in a 19-footer.
While the Mailman busied himself making road kill out of whoever tried to guard him - at first rookie Christian Laettner, then veteran Bob McCann - the Jazz hunkered down for a long stretch of persistent defense. Trailing 31-30, the Jazz suddenly went on runs of 8-0 and later 9-0, to open a 14-point lead. "Basically it was the same old story," said Malone. "We play good defense and try to hold teams under 100 points, we win."
With David Benoit coming off the bench to score eight in the second period, the Jazz lead inched up to 18 by the half. The Mailman put a wrap on the second quarter, as he did the first, by landing a layup and adding a free throw for a 53-38 halftime lead.
Soon after, the game was out of reach for Minnesota. The Mailman scored 10 fast points to open the third quarter and the Jazz lead was up to 25. From then on it was only a matter of remaining steady - something the Jazz haven't done often this year. Though Minnesota cut the lead to 15, the verdict was in.
"I'll never get to the point where I say I'm unstoppable, but I'll come at you all night," said Malone.
Afterward, the Timberwolves, who have the second-worst record in the league, pointed to a lack of defense as their downfall. When a Minnesota reporter asked forward Chuck Person - who led his team with 26 points - if playing against two Olympians was an uphill battled, Person replied, "Not really. I don't feel two players can beat us."
Actually, it was one.
The Mailman wrapped up his evening's work with a thunderous drive for another basket with 2:29 left in the game, then retired to the bench to watch the reserves wrap up the night.
"I just tried to do the things I've done all year. Sometimes it works," said the Mailman, "and sometimes it doesn't."
GAME NOTES: When a fan called to the Mailman to take a rest because it was President's Day, the Mailman called back, "I don't like the President. He's gonna raise taxes." . . . John Crotty played for the first time in nine games, registering one assist in three minutes . . . Ex-Jazzman Thurl Bailey played just nine minutes, making two of three shots . . . The win was Utah's biggest since a 24-point margin over Dallas Jan. 9.