It's getting hard lately to tell which falls more: those little turnaround, fadeaway jumpers that Karl Malone seems to favor or another Malone milestone.
The Mailman delivered a dandy on Wednesday, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 or more points in a season on 12 different occasions.
He finished with a team-high 27 points and broke out of a tie with Michael Jordan, who did it 11 times.
"It's a heck of an accomplishment," Jazz center Olden Polynice said. "It goes to show you how great of a player he truly is, and the kind of work he's been putting in."
It seems the only folks working harder than Malone are those keeping track of which milestone or statistical standing he happens to be surpassing next. Already this season he has:
Joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to score more than 30,000 points, and only the third player to make 11,000 field goals.
Passed Abdul-Jabbar for third place all-time in rebounds.
Passed Buck Williams for eighth place and Oscar Robertson for seventh place all-time in minutes played.
Moved past Robertson and into second place in free throws made.
Passed Alex English for seventh place and Jordan for sixth place all-time in field goals attempted.
Passed Jordan for fourth place and Elvin Hayes for third place all-time in field goals made.
Became the sixth player in NBA history to score at least 1,000 points in 15 or more seasons.
This latest feat came when Malone converted a pass from Jeff Hornacek into a short jump hook that put the Jazz up 62-46 in Utah's 102-93 victory over the Clippers, who had Abdul-Jabbar sitting on their bench as an assistant coach. Though it was incorrectly announced over the Delta Center public address system that Malone had become the first player to score 2,000-plus points in 12 consecutive seasons (he didn't do it during last season's lockout-shortened schedule), it is still quite an accomplishment.
MISC.: Jazz guard John Stockton played in his 1,254th career game, tying Paul Silas for seventh place on the NBA's all-time games played list . . . Jazz center Olden Polynice's 13 points marked a season-high . . . Reserve Jazz forward Armen Gilliam played with an elastic sleeve over his strained left elbow, which was apparently injured in Utah's loss to Portland on Monday.