GAME REPORT

FIRST QUARTER: JAZZ 25, LAKERS 22

So much for being nice to the referees--it took all of 22 seconds for Elden Campbell to earn his first foul, and a little more than a minute for Eddie Jones to get one too. Another minute or so and Campbell found himself with two fouls in a little more than two minutes. The Lakers looked out of sync, something that didn’t seem helped by Del Harris’ removal of Nick Van Exel after a minute and 57 seconds. Kobe Bryant came in and turned the ball over twice--one that was of the behind-the-back variety and nearly behind Utah Coach Jerry Sloan. The Jazz took advantage and raced to a 20-6 lead, Karl Malone scoring eight in the run. Van Exel’s return helped visibly. He and Shaquille O’Neal helped to stop the Utah momentum and create a 16-3 run that closed the deficit to 23-22. Then the Lakers let Chris Morris slip by for a dunk with three-tenths of a second left.

* LAKER LEADING SCORER: O’Neal 10 points

* JAZZ LEADING SCORER: Malone 10 points

* LAKER FIELD GOALS: 8-17, 47.1%

* JAZZ FIELD GOALS: 8-17, 47.1%

SECOND QUARTER: JAZZ 51, LAKERS 44

Campbell and Jones, the missing Lakers, somewhat surprisingly carried the first-quarter momentum into the second. The Lakers tied the score, 27-27, with 9:22 left and the joint was jumping. So what happened? Utah regrouped during a timeout and came out with a 9-0 run. The Lakers tried to come back again, but Utah exploited their half-court trap defense. Malone and John Stockton started their pick-and-roll, and when the Lakers trapped, Stockton rotated the ball around to Bryon Russell for a few deflating three-pointers. Robert Horry scored eight points in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the half to try to rally the Forum fans, but he didn’t get much help.

* LAKER LEADING SCORER: Horry 8

* JAZZ LEADING SCORER: Russell 12

* LAKER FIELD GOALS: 9-16, 56.3%

* JAZZ FIELD GOALS: 10-22, 45.5%

THIRD QUARTER: JAZZ 79, LAKERS 69

Malone started to take control of the game. He had eight of Utah’s first 10 points to open the second half and he assisted on the other two points. When the Lakers started trapping him again, the Jazz rotated the ball out to Jeff Hornacek, who scored six unanswered points. That freed Malone again and before the Lakers knew it Utah had stretched its lead to 18 with 4:55 to go. O’Neal and Van Exel tried to put out the fires. O’Neal blocked three shots, made his free throws and would not be denied going to the basket. He didn’t say a word to the referees, but he made up for it by warning Utah’s Greg Ostertag not to try to bring the ball into the key again. He also faced off with Malone. Van Exel had a couple of steals, a couple of assists, a couple of free throws and a three-point basket as the Lakers trimmed the lead to nine in the final 30 seconds of the quarter.

* LAKER LEADING SCORER: O’Neal 11

* JAZZ LEADING SCORER: Malone 12

* LAKER FIELD GOALS: 6-14, 42.9%

* JAZZ FIELD GOALS: 9-25, 36%

FOURTH QUARTER: JAZZ 110, LAKERS 95

Utah was happy to trade baskets for the first four minutes. Neither team seemed to start off with much emotion. Then Harris put in his smaller, athletic lineup and things started to happen. Jones keyed the comeback. He stole the ball, ran the break and finished them with a three-point basket and a layup during an 11-2 run that brought the Lakers within four. Van Exel had a steal, a basket and set up a couple of three-point baskets in the run. But the Jazz called timeout and stalled the Lakers again. Maybe the Lakers can try to fix things so the Jazz can’t call time. Methodically--do they do it any other way?--the Jazz pulled away behind Malone and Russell. Russell finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds, but everyone knew it would be Malone down the stretch. That didn’t help the Lakers stop him: Malone scored 12 in the final six minutes. He finished with 42 points, nine rebounds and made all 18 of his free throws.

* LAKER LEADING SCORER: Jones 10

* JAZZ LEADING SCORER: Malone 14

* LAKER FIELD GOALS: 6-17, 35.3%

* JAZZ FIELD GOALS: 10-18, 55.6%