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Rumble with the Mailman Mavs coach bumps Malone after drawing ejection
Posted: Friday January 07, 2000 08:18 PM
DALLAS (AP) -- Karl Malone still enjoys basketball after 15 seasons in the NBA. What will drive him to retirement is what the Utah Jazz forward calls "the sideshow." Malone was at center stage on Thursday night, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds in Utah's 105-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Along the way, he engaged in a nose-to-nose confrontation with Dallas coach Don Nelson after Nelson was ejected in the third quarter. "The game is pretty easy to play," Malone said after Utah extended its winning streak to five games. "It ain't the playing of the game that's going to drive me away, it's the sideshow." Nelson and Dallas center Shawn Bradley were ejected in the second half, and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was tossed out with 3:37 to play. There were eight technical fouls in addition to the three ejections. Nelson was tossed with 6:04 left in the third quarter when he was hit with a double technical for arguing a call by referee Scott Wall.
Nelson continued to argue the call after Bradley left the court, and Wall ejected Nelson. The Mavericks coach then confronted Malone, bumping Malone before the two were separated and Nelson was escorted out of the arena. "I was taught when I was little to respect my elders, but you're totally out of line when you get in a player's face," Malone said. "He crossed the line and I have no respect for that." Malone said a physical confrontation between the 59-year-old Nelson and the 6-foot-9, 260-pound power forward would be, "like a Volkswagen and an 18-wheeler. That's the first time a coach has bumped me in 15 years. I realize he's an older fellow, but he's probably overmatched." Nelson's son and top assistant coach, Donnie, took over the team, and Donnie Nelson was slapped with a technical with 4:53 left in the third quarter for going into the court to protest a no-call. Bradley returned to start the fourth quarter, but picked up his second technical of the night for an automatic ejection. Neither Don Nelson nor Bradley was available for comment. Donnie Nelson said of his father's confrontation with Malone, "I thought I was going to have to jump on his back and slow him down. That's what he is, he's a competitor and he's feisty." Asked how his father would have fared against Malone, Donnie Nelson said, "He's got a real good sucker punch." Sloan got into the act, picking up two technicals with less than four minutes left to earn his ejection. "It was a little crazy out there," Sloan said. "We were glad to come away with the win." "Emotion runs high every once in a while," Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek said. Bryon Russell added 20 points for the Jazz, and John Stockton had 12 points and 10 assists. Utah has won 11 in a row against Dallas. Dallas dropped its sixth in a row at home, with future owner Mark Cuban looking on from his baseline seat. Cuban, an Internet billionaire, agreed this week to buy majority interest in the Mavericks from Ross Perot Jr. for $280 million. On Wednesday, the Mavericks were already taking bold steps as Don Nelson announced he will drop his coaching duties next season and focus on managing the team. Nelson, who became the Mavericks' general manager on Feb. 7, 1997, also recommended that his son Donnie not be considered as his replacement. Michael Finley had 30 points for the Mavericks, who've lost nine of 10 overall. Dirk Nowitzki added 24 points, and Cedric Ceballos had 21 points and 14 rebounds. Utah put the game away with a 16-4 fourth-quarter spurt, capped by Greg Ostertag's basket with 5:28 left that made it 89-75. Malone's 15 third-quarter points allowed the Jazz to maintain the lead.
Notes:Hornacek had his streak of 67 consecutive successful free throws end in the second quarter. Hornacek, who last missed on Nov. 12, has the sixth-longest streak in league history. Micheal Williams had a league-record streak of 97 from March 24-Nov. 9, 1993. ... The Mavericks signed guard Greg Buckner to a 10-day contract. Buckner, a 1998 second-round pick of the Mavericks, played in the CBA last season. He suffered a knee injury prior to training camp this season. ... Utah opened the game with a 13-2 run and held a 45-40 halftime lead. ... Finley played in his 329th consecutive game, third-longest active streak in the league. ... Dallas forward Gary Trent missed the game because of a strained left groin.
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