Utah 119, Washington 93
Making history is a good thing. Becoming history is not.
Karl Malone darn-near did both Saturday night, but — fortunately for the Jazz, and their never-dying title hopes — he managed to escape harm on the same evening he passed Moses Malone for first place on the NBA's all-time leaders list for free throws made.
Karl Malone hit No. 8,532 when he made the second of two freebies with 10 minutes and 48 seconds remaining in the third quarter of Utah's 119-93 Delta Center dance over the Washington Wizards, a blowout which the Jazz led by as many as 39 points.
The milestone free throw put the league's second-leading all-time scorer at the head of a statistical category that seemed well beyond reach when, as an NBA rookie during the 1985-86 season, he shot a miserable .481 from the line.
"That's one of those things that I never, ever imagined as a player — a record like that," said Malone, who wound up 9-of-10 on the night and is now 8,534-of-11,576 (.737) lifetime.
Attaining the achievement, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said, is testament to the fortitude with which Malone has played throughout his 16-season career, which includes two NBA MVP awards and two unsuccessful trips to the NBA Finals.
"We haven't won a championship," Sloan said, "but he keeps coming back and trying."
It is with that same determination that Malone improved his free-throw shooting, so much so that he has been under .700 only once in the last 14 seasons.
"It's an indicator of the type of player he is . . . He's found a way to get better every year," guard John Stockton said on a night the Jazz, who are battling to catch San Antonio for first place in the NBA's Western Conference, improved to 47-21. "Even being Karl Malone, and being as great as he is, he finds a way to get better."
Malone hit his record-tying and record-setting free throws after getting fouled on a putback attempt by Washington center Jahidi White.
The two free tosses put Utah up 74-40 in a game that was never in doubt, one which the Jazz were ahead of the 17-53 Wizards by 30 at the half.
Five minutes after the memorable free throws, White and Malone made contact again.
This time Malone, on his way to the hole, went over the top of White, who bent over in an understandable act of self-preservation. The Mailman came down hands-first, but somehow managed to walk away injury-free.
That, Jazz center Olden Polynice said, can credited to Malone "being limber — or God being on his side . . . Because most guys would still be out there."
From the Line
The all-time NBA leaders in free-throws made:
PLAYERFTS MADE
Karl Malone8,534
Moses Malone8,531
Oscar Robertson7,694
Jerry West7,160
Dolph Schayes7,969
Everyone in the Jazz locker room was impressed with Malone's landing.
"I give him a 10.0 on the cartwheel," Jazz guard John Crotty cracked.
Malone, who jokingly gave himself the same score, called the play "scary."
He was not alone.
"I swear to goodness — my heart dropped," Polynice said. "I could not believe it."
Neither could Malone, who exited a short time later and wound up watching the entire fourth quarter from the safety and comfort of the Utah bench.
"It's weird, but the whole play — I saw it happening before it even happened, even before I got the basketball," he said. "It's weird, but I saw myself in that position, and then, when it happened, it was all in slow motion.
"The last thing I remember is seeing the floor," added Malone, who logged only 18 minutes on an easy 15-point night, "so that's why I put my hand down."
Once up, Malone walked straight to a video monitor so he could see a replay of what had just occcured.
"It was one of those things," he said, "where you don't think about it much until after it happens."
Like his free-throw record, he will look back some day and remember it all rather fondly. But that's only because he'll be around to recall the history.
MISC.: Stockton played only 10 minutes, but with good reason. Early Saturday morning, his wife, Nada, delivered the couple's sixth child, boy No. 4 Samuel Thomas Stockton . . . Common practice for Jazz players who log fewer than 20 minutes is a 20-minute postgame session on the exercise bike. Asked if he partook in the ritual, Stockton, who usually plays many more minutes than that, cracked a wide-grinned "No." . . . This was Utah's second-highest scoring game of the season, falling 6 short of a 125-point effort against Golden State . . . Jazz backup guard Jacque Vaughn scored a career-high 18 points while playing 38 minutes, matching his career high for playing time . . . Everyone with the Jazz scored in the first half, including reserve forward Scott Padgett, whose 13 points were a season-high, topping his previous best of 10 . . . Washington — which got 20 points from Richard Hamilton, 18 from White, 14 from Courtney Alexander and not much at all from anyone else — has lost five of its last six games . . . Wizards starter Hubert Davis played 10 minutes, then left with a strained right hamstring.
E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com