Malone Goes Past West as Jazz Rolls Through East

Karl Malone replaced Jerry West as the NBA’s 10th-leading scorer Wednesday night, scoring 32 points as the Utah Jazz cruised to a 113-100 victory over the Celtics at Boston.

Malone, with 25,200 points, is 413 points behind Alex English, No. 9 on the all-time list. With 15 regular-season games left, Malone could pass English this season.

“I really have only one goal this year and that’s to get to the next level,” Malone said. “The individual accomplishments are something I will look back on once I have finished playing.”

The Jazz, who finished a 6-1 Eastern trip, improved to 50-17, the NBA’s second-best record and best in the Western Conference.

Much of the credit goes to Malone, who has averaged 34.7 points in the last four games.

Malone made 13 of 18 shots against the Celtics as the Jazz scored 100 points in the first three quarters to take a 100-72 lead.

New York 111, Philadelphia 100--Patrick Ewing had 30 points and 13 rebounds for his 38th double-double this season as the Knicks won at Philadelphia.

New York has won nine of 11, but its two losses came against sub-.500 teams, Dallas and New Jersey. And they had trouble putting away a 76er team that is now 2-8 in March and was officially eliminated from the playoffs after losing Tuesday to Toronto.

Toronto 99, Detroit 97--Marcus Camby scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and had a career-high 14 rebounds to lead the Raptors at Auburn Hills, Mich.

It was the 19th loss for the Pistons and only their fourth against a sub-.500 team. In fact, the Raptors (26-43) have the worst record of all the teams that have beaten Detroit this season.

The Pistons wore black patches on their jersey in memory of Detroit Free Press beat writer Corky Meinecke, who died Tuesday after a long bout with cancer. The Pistons will wear the patches for the rest of the season.

Minnesota 95, Vancouver 72--The Timberwolves ran off 20 unanswered points in the second quarter at Minneapolis and led by as many as 29 down the stretch as they handed the Grizzlies their 15th consecutive loss.

The Grizzlies were held to 33 points in the first half.

Charlotte 90, Cleveland 72--The Cavaliers are the NBA’s best defensive team, but the Hornets beat them at their own game at Charlotte, N.C.

Cleveland, which came in giving up a league-low 85.2 points, were outrebounded, 42-30, shot only 39% and had six fastbreak points compared to 19 for Charlotte.

Miami 93, Golden State 91--P.J. Brown had three dunks in overtime and the Heat overcame a 15-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Warriors at Miami.

Jamal Mashburn led Miami with 29 points.

Atlanta 107, Indiana 95--Dikembe Mutombo had 18 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Hawks at Atlanta.