PORTLAND — Jazz star Karl Malone did not want to discuss his fluke first-half knee injury, and Jazz forward Armen Gilliam took his cue by barely doing the same.
"I don't think he wants to talk about it much, and I want to respect that," said Gilliam, who crashed into Malone while chasing after the rebound of an Arvydas Sabonis in the second quarter of Portland's 94-75 victory over Utah in Game 1 of their second-round Western Conference playoff series on Sunday.
Gilliam would only confirm, as TV replays indicated, that he was shoved in the back by Portland's Rasheed Wallace, catapulting him out of bounds. "I thought I got pushed," he said.
Malone, sitting on the Jazz bench when bumped by Gilliam, sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Malone returned to score 18 of his 22 points in the second half, and indicated afterward that he expects to play in Tuesday's Game 2.
Still, the incident put quite a scare into the Jazz. And even though Malone himself did not want to address it, others did.
"He's going to be out there no matter what's hurting him," Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek said of Malone, who has missed just three games in his 15-season NBA career.
"He didn't look like he was playing hurt," Portland forward Brian Grant said. "He put his head down and went harder to the basket, and that's when he is very effective."
"That guy is a great warrior," said Trail Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy, who was not surprised to see Malone resume play. "You would expect a great response from him."
So would Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who was happy to have Malone back after the received medical treatment and clearance to return.
"He did twist his knee a bit, but he said he was OK, and he wanted to play," Sloan said. "I'm not going to tell him to stop if he thinks he's ready to play. I don't make those decisions. We have our doctors and our trainer here (for that)."
IN MEMORY: The Trail Blazers are wearing black patches on their jerseys for the remainder of the playoffs in honor of Bill Musselman, the former Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach who joined Portland as an assistant coach in 1997.
Musselman, diagnosed a month ago with a form of bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma, died early Friday morning of a rare disease, primary systemic amyloidosis, that prompted a stroke and caused his heart and kidneys to fail. He was 59.
The Blazers canceled their Friday morning interview session with the media, and Dunleavy nearly broke down after saying just a few words about Musselman to reporters.
"Coach Muss was definitely a big part of this organization, a family member who encouraged each person on the team in different ways. He did that however he needed to do that," said Portland point guard Damon Stoudamire, who liked each of his teammates received a personal call from Musselman as he rested last week in a hospital at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. "Words can't explain the way I feel. It's something that hurts inside, but I know that he is in a better place."
Prior to Sunday's game, Musselman was honored with a moment of silence at the Rose Garden.
"He had a special relationship with each one of us on this team," said Portland veteran Scottie Pippen, who is new to the Blazers this season.
MISC.: The Jazz are now 1-12 in playoff games at Portland. Utah has lost it last 12 in a row, the only victory coming on April 30, 1988, in Game 2 of a first-round series that the Jazz won in four games . . . Portland is 7-0 in best-of-seven series in which it won the opening game. Utah has never won a best-of-seven after losing Game 1.
You can reach Tim Buckley by e-mail at tbuckley@desnews.com