The ball itself looked like nothing special: Worn nearly smooth of its old pebble grain by use in three previous games, notched along one seam with four Magic-Marker Xs for each game it was used by the referees. How could anyone hold onto that ball, much less shoot it into history?
"Well, it was good to me tonight," said Karl Malone, who got custody at 2:07 of the second quarter of the worn-out ball that he used to drop in his first free throw of Friday's game in the Delta Center for his 15th point of the night and 20,000th point of his career.He finished the game with 28 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and a steal.
After going 7-for-7 from the field to start the game, Malone attempted a 10-footer that missed. The Delta Center crowd took a collective gasp. "I remember the last shot I took before I got fouled. The fans, they sensed it. That's the one they wanted me to make," said Malone, the 19th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points.
Only four players have done it quicker (Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Jabbar has the highest total, 38,387).
Malone did it in the 772nd game of his career.
With a recycled ball, which was then handed to Malone like it was a jewel by referee Bill Oakes after the made free throw. Malone waved at the crowd and was congratulated by, who else, John Stockton first, then by teammates, coaches and team owner Larry Miller, who bear-hugged Malone and lifted him to his toes.
"I just said, `You're on your way to 30,000,"' said Miller, who admitted he didn't want Malone to make the free throws. "I said, `Miss 'em, miss 'em, so you can make it on a slam dunk,' " said Miller.
Malone said later, "Twenty thousand is 20,000. It doesn't matter how you get it. It was just a matter of getting it over with." He said after he made his first few baskets, he hoped to hit his 15th point soon without disrupting the game.
Wife Kay Malone said her husband had hoped Jazz officials wouldn't stop the game because he was far more interested in the Jazz staying focused and winning again. He never talked about the milestone other than that around home, Kay said.
With the free throw, play didn't have to be stopped, and Malone said he tried not to show up Cleveland players by making a big deal of it. That's why he simply waved, took congratulations quickly, looked at Kay and lined up to make his second free throw.
To Malone, it was somewhat of a triumph to be able to make No. 20,000 on a free throw because, he recalled, when he was a rookie he was a poor free-thrower who has made that part of his game an asset over the years. "It's a little better feeling to make it on a free throw," he said, adding when he first came into the league no one including him would have believed he'd accomplish something like this.
Kay Malone, who's not really a basketball fan, said she's happy for her husband but, as she was sitting in her seats with two beauty-pageant candidates she's helping to train, "I totally forgot" about the point chase. She wasn't really aware Karl made his first seven shots and missed it when he missed No. 8. "I must have been talking she said.
At halftime, she received a kiss from Karl as he strolled back toward the court from the locker room, and after the game she got another and they talked a while as he came back into the tunnel.
For Karl, it was good to get the big point at home, and he was proud to be one of the few players to reach that many points playing for one team. "It's neat that I did it here in one place instead of jumping around the league. Hopefully, I'll finish it here," Malone said while seated at midcourt during the postgame public interview with Hot Rod Hundley.
"It means I've shot a lot of free throws and jump shots," Malone said. "I told the coaches, that's a lot of basketballs to be shooting."
And a lot more to be shot.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Top 20 NBA scorers
Player Points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
2. Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
3. MOSES MALONE 27,409
4. Elvin Hayes 27,313
5. Oscar Robertson 26,710
6. John Havlicek 26,395
7. Alex English 25,613
8. Jerry West 25,192
9. DOMINIQUE WILKINS 24,728
10. Adrian Dantley 23,177
11. Elgin Baylor 23,149
12. ROBERT PARISH 22,701
13. Larry Bird 21,791
14. Hal Green 21,586
15. Michael Jordan 21,541
16. Walt Bellamy 20,941
17. Bob Pettit 20,880
18. George Gervin 20,708
19. KARL MALONE 20,013
20. TOM CHAMBERS 19,736
All-time career assists
1. Magic Johnson 9,921
2. Oscar Robertson 9,887
3. JOHN STOCKTON 9,843
Active players are listed in bold type.
Totals are through Friday's games.