SAN ANTONIO — John Stockton readily admits it.
The back half of Stockton-to-Malone is a given, one that at times even the front half simply assumes will be there to get the job done.
"I think everybody — even sometimes myself — takes him for granted," Stockton, the NBA's all-time assists leader, said of the man most often on the receiving end of the dishes he doles, one Karl Malone. "You expect things out of him, and every night you expect it."
On many more nights than not, Malone does make thing happen. It's a major reason the 53-25 Jazz are in the position they find themselves now, one victory away from clinching the Midwest Division title.
By beating the San Antonio Spurs tonight, Utah — owners of the third-best record in the NBA behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers — will go into the final three games of its regular season knowing it will have the No. 2 seed for the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Doing so will require the type of effort so many have grown accustomed to seeing from Malone, a two-time NBA MVP who is 42 points away from becoming the third man in NBA history to score 31,000 career points.
If not tonight, then perhaps as soon as Sunday, when the Jazz play at Phoenix, he will join the elite company of Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).
Though he won't be winning a third MVP title this season — Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers can make room on his mantle for that — it's longevity and consistency that set Malone apart.
"We're fortunate to have a Karl Malone, that you can go to every night," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "Not everybody is blessed with those."
For Malone, the burden of meeting such standards is not too overwhelming.
"After all these years, I think it's kind of expected of me to have the kind of years that I've been having," the 15-season vet said after scoring 27 points in the Jazz's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, when he snapped a tie with Michael Jordan to become the first player in NBA history to 2,000 or more points in a season on 12 different occasions. "Like I take, maybe, some of my teammates for granted, I think they do the same thing, with me."
And that's fine with Malone, who at the age of 36 is joined by the 38-year-old Stockton in a race with time for their thus-far elusive NBA championship. A small step on that course comes tonight, in a big game that could have been bigger if circumstances were just a little different.
After losing to Portland on Thursday, San Antonio is 31/2 games behind the Jazz in the Midwest.
Moreover, the Spurs are hurting: leading scorer Tim Duncan is doubtful due to a slight cartilage tear in his left knee sustained when he dunked over Sacramento's Scot Pollard in a game last Tuesday, and veteran center David Robinson continues to play with a pinched nerve in his right shoulder that flares on occasion — as it did against the Trail Blazers.
"It don't bother me," Malone said of the fact that stakes aren't even greater for the NBC-televised game. "You guys (media members) want to hype it up, (but) I don't think there's no hype to it. . . . Yeah, it would have been nice if it was a 1-game lead. (Instead) it took some of the edge off for you guys."
Still, the Jazz — who have lost two of their last three — can stand to win this one so that they can head into the postseason with some degree of momentum.
"Obviously," Stockton said, "it's a big game."
More obvious than that, the Jazz have vowed to treat it like any other. Stockton: "Come prepared, lay it all out and we'll see what happens."
No matter what does happen, Malone will be content in knowing he and Stockton have put team goals ahead of all others.
His accomplishment Wednesday and impending surpassing of the 31,000-point plateau are well and fine, but what really motivates Malone, he suggests, is the fact he's done it just for the Jazz over all these years.
"It's nice — things like that," Malone said of the milestones. "But I think team things are what's more important.
"It's been a great fit for me (in Utah)," he added. "When I first came out of Louisiana Tech, you know, I wanted to play closer to home . . . and I come here, and everything just fit right."
Nearly 31,000 points later, Malone gives opponents fits.
His longest-tenured teammate would expect nothing less.
"It's kind of nice to sit back and appreciate what he does every night, every year," Stockton said. "He's something special."