Game 3: Washington 90, Utah 86
Monday night at the Delta Center
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Wizards 22 22 19 27 - 90
Jazz 30 12 16 28 - 86
1st quarter: Jazz open on fire, not missing a field goal until quarter is half over. Jeff Hornacek scores 10 points and dishes out four assists.
2nd quarter: Wizards rally from 12-point deficit to take a 44-42 lead into intermission. Chris Webber has 18 points in the half, nine in each quarter. Jazz score just one point per minute.
3rd quarter: Karl Malone nets 10 of Utah's 16 points in sloppy quarter by both teams. Jazz shoot 33 percent from field. Wizards connect on 30 percent.
4th quarter: Rookie point guard Jacque Vaughn is on court during crunch time. Jazz knot game after trailing by as many as nine. Washington's Calbert Cheaney hits two clutch shots in final minutes.
Who's hot: Shandon Anderson. The second-year swingman played a season-low 16 minutes, made all four of his shots for eight points. Malone struggled offensively during the first half but netted 18 second-half points for a team-high 21. He also pulled down 16 boards.
Quote of note: "It's tough guarding Malone. We tried three or four different guys on him and you still can't wear him down . . . . I think he is the epitome of what a professional should be." - Washington coach Bernie Bickerstaff on the reigning NBA MVP.
Key to the game: The Jazz commit nine more turnovers than the Wizards and miss 15 free throws.
Records: Jazz 1-2; Wizards 1-2
Worth noting: The Jazz had won 14 straight regular season home games and 27 of 28 dating back to last season . . . Chris Morris was the only Jazzman not to see any action. Rookie point guard Troy Hudson played the final few seconds of the second quarter . . . Starting small forward Bryon Russell has scored a total of 16 points in three games after averaging 10.8 points last season. He had seven quick points in the first quarter Monday but didn't score again . . . Hornacek was forced out of the game briefly near the end of the first quarter with a bleeding cut on his left wrist. He didn't receive a foul call during the play when he suffered the cut. He returned and finished with 16 points . . . Webber has averaged 13.5 points per game against the Jazz, but he had nearly double that with 26 Monday . . . Greg Ostertag had a good all-around night with 12 points, nine boards and seven blocked shots.
Next Up: Jazz at Phoenix tonight at 7 p.m. Game 4