FORWARDS: Two games into the series and the Lakers don't have an answer for Karl Malone, who delivered an MVP-like 33 points on 12 of 18 shooting Monday night. Lakers defenders Corie Blount and Robert Horry didn't go peacefully, however, sending Malone to the foul line 15 times, where he showed his only signs of mortality, connecting just nine times. Malone's running mate, Bryon Russell, added 10 points for the Jazz.
Edge: Jazz
CENTERS: The Jazz withstood the promised bounce-back game by Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq finished with 31 points. But when you're bigger than most Central American nations, you're supposed to get your points, right? Also, give the Jazz's center-by-committee plenty of credit for keeping O'Neal to worldly rebounding (only seven boards in 42 minutes of play) numbers. No Hack-a-Shaq this time out as the Los Angeles big man only went to the foul line eight times, making only three.
Edge: Lakers
GUARDS: John Stockton returned from the missing for the Jazz, but Jeff Hornacek - at least in the point department - is still AWOL. Stockton dominated from the point guard position (22 points and six assists in only 31 minutes of play). Hornacek, who tallied a single point in Saturday's blowout, added 11, but still looked out of sync. Lakers All-Star Eddie Jones finally showed signs of life inside the Delta Center, scoring 19 points, including nine points in the 4th quarter.
Edge: Jazz
BENCHES: Jazz backup point guard Howard Eisley, found his shot in Game 1, only to misplace it again Monday night, going scoreless in 17 minutes of play. Still he was running the team in the decisive opening minutes of the 4th quarter when Utah overcame a 1-point deficit to take an 8-point advantage. Note to Jerry Sloan: Don't forget to send Chris Morris a thank you note for his 5 points. Kobe Bryant's 8 points off the bench for the Lakers failed to convince anyone that Michael Jordan's pending retirement is a good thing.
Edge: Jazz
COACHING: Kudos to Del Harris for bringing Los Angeles back from its Game 1 abyss. After Saturday's whipping, the Lakers could have folded, but instead, they were within minutes on Monday of stealing the game and perhaps the series from the Jazz. But how can you ignore Sloan's having the Jazz prepared for whatever the Lakers threw at them? Harris will need all his motivational tricks as the series shifts to Los Angeles. If he comes up empty, Utah may bring along the brooms.
Edge: tie