Karl Malone finally got the chance to face the Utah Jazz, and beating the team he played with for 18 seasons didn't feel so good.

``It was kind of bittersweet,'' Malone said. ``They're friends _ friends for life.''

Malone had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and needed an X-ray on his hand after getting knocked around in the Los Angeles Lakers' 91-84 win over the Jazz Sunday.

Malone, the NBA's second-leading career scorer, missed the Lakers' first game against Utah because of a suspension and the last two due to a knee injury that caused him to miss 39 games.

On Sunday, Malone shot 5-of-10 and 9-of-12 from the foul line while playing 34 minutes. And he was elbowed in his shooting hand, banged the knee he injured in December and got hit in the head. X-rays on the hand were negative.

``We have all the respect in the world for Karl, and we wish him the best of luck whatever he does because of what he gave us for the time that he was with us,'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. ``I'm happy for him to have a chance to be on a great team.''

In other games, it was: Memphis 94, Toronto 88; Dallas 118, Orlando 88; Houston 111, Milwaukee 107, OT; Indiana 87, Miami 80; Boston 89, Philadelphia 65; and Golden State 105, L.A. Clippers 77.

Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 34 points in the last two minutes; Gary Payton added 17 points, and Shaquille O'Neal had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers (50-23), who reached 50 wins for the eighth straight season not counting 1998-99 campaign, shortened to 50 games because of labor problems.

The Lakers trail Sacramento, 100-92 winners over the Washington Wizards, by two games for first in the Western Conference. The Jazz are tied with Portland for the final spot.

Raja Bell scored 16 of his career-high 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Jazz (38-36), who lost for just the third time in 10 games.

Mavericks 118, Magic 88

At Orlando, Fla., Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and nine rebounds as Dallas handed the Magic, playing without Tracy McGrady, their eighth straight loss.

Rookie Josh Howard tied a season high with 19 points, and added 12 rebounds and five assists before fouling out, while Steve Nash had 12 points and 11 assists for Dallas, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Grizzlies 94, Raptors 88

At Toronto, Pau Gasol had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Jason Williams scored eight points in the last three minutes to lead Memphis to its fifth straight win.

The Grizzlies clinched the first playoff berth in the franchise's nine-year history.

Vince Carter scored 16 points on 6-for-22 shooting as Toronto lost its fourth straight.

Rockets 111, Bucks 107, OT

At Milwaukee, Yao Ming finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, and Houston overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat the Bucks in overtime.

Steve Francis finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Maurice Taylor and Cuttino Mobley each added 19 points for Houston.

Michael Redd had 36 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Bucks, while Joe Smith scored a season-high 25 points.

Pacers 87, Heat 80

At Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal returned after missing two games with a knee injury and had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead Indiana over Miami.

Caron Butler, Eddie Jones and Dwyane Wade each scored 14 points for the Heat, which had their seven-game winning streak end.

Celtics 89, 76ers 65

At Boston, Philadelphia set franchise records for fewest points in a half and in three quarters in a loss.

Another sign of Philadelphia's futility: it missed 65 shots while Boston took only 77.

The Celtics were led by Mark Blount, Ricky Davis and Jiri Welsch with 13 points each.

Kenny Thomas had 18 points for Philadelphia, which was playing without Allen Iverson for the fifth straight game.

Kings 100, Wizards 92

At Sacramento, Calif., Peja Stojakovic had 29 points and 11 rebounds, helping the Kings snap a two-game losing streak.

Chris Webber made four straight free throws in the final 41 seconds to hold off the Wizards. He finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Warriors 105, Clippers 77

At Oakland, Calif., Erick Dampier had 16 points and a career-high 25 rebounds to lead Golden State to its seventh straight win, the Warriors' longest streak since they won eight in a row April 1994.

Jason Richardson scored 20 points and rookie guard Mickael Pietrus added 17 as the Warriors handed the Clippers their eighth straight loss.

Corey Maggette led Los Angeles with 21 points.

Shaquille O'Neal thinks it's unfair that the rest of the league can hack, hold and hit him but he's not allowed to protect himself.

League officials have reportedly been placed on alert. After some well placed forearms and elbows to his opponents recently. A league source said that they have been shown tapes of the incidents. Officials have reportedly been told to keep an eye out for O'Neal intentionally hitting opponents.

That, the source said, is what prompted referee Bob Delaney to eject O'Neal last Monday in Utah. O'Neal twice struck Andrei Kirilenko, once in the neck and once on the head, and Delaney viewed both blows as intentional.

Speaking generally, O'Neal practically admitted as much.

"I know that the only way the other players in this league can stop me is to foul me," he told the Sun-Times. "They got to grab, hold and pound on me. I don't mind that so much. But let me at least protect myself. Let me give out the same punishment that I'm receiving. Hey, I can play within the rules."

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah Jazz point guard Carlos Arroyo missed Wednesday night's game against Golden State with a sore back.

Arroyo injured his back in Monday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers when he fell into the front row during the third quarter. Arroyo, who hit his lower back on the riser just above the court, did not return.

Arroyo has started all 54 games he's played this season, with 12.1 points and 5.1 assists a game. Raul Lopez replaced him in the starting lineup.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Karl Malone felt right at home being back in Utah, although technically he was a visitor.

Dressing in the visitor's locker room and wearing the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers didn't change much for Malone, back in the city he adopted as his home for so long.

``Been home for 18 years,'' he said.

Malone, out since December with a torn knee ligament, participated in the Lakers' shootaround Monday morning, hours before his Los Angeles teammates were to play the only other team Malone has played for in his 19 NBA seasons.

Still on the injured list with a bad knee, he was not expected to be activated for the game.

And despite a recent public feud with the Jazz, Malone said he was happy to be back.

``I love my new life. That's what I'm saying. That's why I don't know what all the fuss is about,'' he said. ``I'm happy. The Jazz are happy. They're winning. I keep up with them. Why can't both sides be happy and get along?''

This is the same Malone who at the end of January said he would never forgive the Jazz and accused the team of lacking class because of a skit that poked fun at Malone and Laker teammate Kobe Bryant.

Malone didn't make the trip, choosing to avoid the hoopla surrounding his first trip back to Salt Lake City. But he heard about the skit and was livid.

Utah's front office apologized to Malone and the Lakers, but last weekend Jazz owner Larry Miller sounded off about Malone's initial reaction with several harsh comments.

Malone, who has a long history of differences with Miller, had a much more mellow outlook on Monday.

``What do you guys want me to say? That's old news, man. I'm somewhere else. My life is good. Their life is good,'' he said. ``You guys keep beating things to death and it's for no reason. I've got too many positive memories for 18 years.''

Malone joined the Lakers last summer as a free agent, saying it was best both he and the Jazz move on. Malone wanted to win a championship, which he came just short of doing with the Jazz in 1997 and '98, and the Jazz were trying to rebuild with players younger than Malone and John Stockton, who was with the team 19 years before retiring last summer.

Malone expected mixed feelings from Jazz fans.

``I'm with the Lakers. That's where I play,'' Malone said. ``You can't control what people do or say. I said I was going to be here and I'm here. I stay true to my word.''

Malone had hoped to return before or during Monday's game and even hinted that ``anything's possible,'' but later said he was still not quite up for returning.

And with Kobe Bryant out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson did not want to take any chances with Malone aggravating the knee by rushing back just to play in Utah.

Having Malone and Bryant healthy for the playoffs next month is much more important to the Lakers.

``It's very close. Karl's ready to play 5 minutes or 6 minutes or so,'' Jackson said. ``He hasn't been able to play in a full-court situation yet, so that's just not right for him to have to come back at this time and try to do it in an NBA game when he hasn't even done it in a practice situation.''

This is the first time in his career Malone has been on the injured list. He said it was ironic that after nearly two decades of banging inside and becoming the NBA's second all-time leading scorer, he hurt the knee Dec. 22 against Phoenix while shooting an outside jump shot.

And being patient while rehabilitating the knee has also been a new experience for Malone, who had missed only 11 career games before the injury.

``I can't afford a setback right now. So if I miss another week or four or five days, so be it. But if it's another day or night, I look forward to that too,'' Malone said. ``It's not weeks anymore. It's hours, days. It's right there.''

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah guard Carlos Arroyo left in the third quarter of the Jazz's game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night after falling into the front row.

Arroyo was defending a fast break when he went out of bounds and wrenched his back when he landed between the courtside photographers and the first row of fans under the Los Angeles basket. Play continued for a few seconds until the Jazz called timeout when Arroyo didn't get up.

Arroyo stayed down for several minutes before limping to the tunnel while holding his lower back.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Karl Malone can probably forget about an official welcome back from his former team.

Malone's contentious relationship with Jazz owner Larry Miller took a turn for the worse over what the Jazz intended to be a joke when Malone did not make the trip to Utah with the Los Angeles Lakers in January.

The Lakers visit the Jazz again on Monday, and although Malone is expected to remain sidelined by a knee injury, he made the trip for his first appearance in Utah as an opponent.

Malone did not speak to reporters or a handful of fans who waited for the Lakers outside the team hotel Sunday night. He said last week that as much as he'd like to return from the injured list against the Jazz, it was probably unlikely.

``I've waited for three months now. I can sure wait for another week,'' Malone said about returning to the lineup, which he had hoped to do before Monday. ``I don't have any fish to fry in this right now. Everybody's waiting on me to say something crazy, but I'm just going to see what happens.''

Malone has toned down his thoughts about the Jazz since he first learned of a skit that was performed during the Lakers' 93-86 victory Jan. 24. Two fake telephone calls to the Jazz mascot from someone mimicking Malone's voice and using some of the more colorful verbal combinations he's known for.

Miller played a part in the skit when he took the phone and hung up on the ``caller.''

Malone, who spent his first 18 seasons with Utah, was especially upset with a reference to teammate Kobe Bryant's pending rape trial.

``I guess it could be worse. I could be Ko...,'' said the fake caller, who stopped short of saying ``Kobe.''

``For them to put that out there about him, that's disrespectful,'' Malone said when he heard about the skit. ``I will never, ever forgive them for this. No class at all.''

Malone also publicly questioned the sincerity of several apologies from the Jazz, who were fined $15,000 by the league for the skit.

Miller, who has feuded with Malone plenty of times over contracts and speculation that Malone was leaving the Jazz - which he eventually did - felt Malone overreacted to the joke.

``I think you've got to have positives along with the negatives in a relationship. Lately he's been only negative,'' Miller said. ``I've had it.''

Miller told the Deseret Morning News that the Jazz did ``cross the line'' with the Bryant reference. He also said plans for a Malone statue outside the Delta Center may be up in the air because Malone hasn't returned to get measured for it.

Miller and Malone have always been able to mend their friendship after their squabbles, a large reason Malone stayed in Utah as long as he did. The greeting could be interesting Monday before Malone takes a seat on the Lakers' bench, directly across from Miller's courtside seat.

But Miller doesn't see a quick resolution to this feud.

``I don't need it. I put up with it for 19 years,'' Miller said. ``There was good and bad. Now there's only bad.''

NEW YORK (AP) Zach Randolph of the Portland Trail Blazers was suspended for one game by the NBA on Sunday for his role in an altercation against the Utah Jazz.

NBA vice president Stu Jackson suspended Randolph for taking a swing at Utah's Raja Bell during Portland's victory over the Jazz on Saturday night.

Randolph missed Portland's game Sunday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The scuffle erupted when Shareef Abdur-Rahim stole the ball from Bell and charged down court. Bell, in pursuit, appeared to try to pull Abdur-Rahim to the ground, before the Blazers' Ruben Patterson jumped into the fray and knocked Bell to the court. Other players, most notably Randolph, also moved in.

After players from both sides were separated, Abdur-Rahim and Patterson were charged with technical fouls. Bell was given a type of flagrant foul that merits an automatic ejection.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Tom Gugliotta was one of the highest-paid and least-used reserves in the NBA, languishing on Phoenix's bench until the Suns and Utah Jazz reached a deal that made everybody happy.

Two weeks later, the Jazz are approaching ``thrilled'' with their veteran addition, who has moved into a starting job as Utah makes a push for a 21st straight playoff appearance.

``We hadn't seen Tom play in a long time,'' Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said Thursday. ``We didn't know really where he would be conditioning-wise and how he'd be able to hold up for us. I think he's done a very good job for us. He knows how to play.''

Although he's averaging just 3.5 points in his four games with Utah, Gugliotta is also contributing 5.3 rebounds. And most importantly, the Jazz are 4-0 since he joined the team last week and 1{ games behind Denver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Unloading Gugliotta and his $11.6 million salary was a financial move for the Suns. Utah had the money available and Phoenix threw in an undisclosed amount of cash to help out the Jazz.

In return, Utah gets an experienced veteran for the playoff stretch, even if he isn't at his 20-point average of years ago.

``It's exciting. These last 21 games, every game is going to mean something the whole way down,'' Gugliotta said. ``As a player, that's what you want because if it's not like that, the last 20 games feel like 50 games and they all feel like scrimmages.''

Gugliotta, who was making $11.6 million in his final season of a six-year deal with the Suns, had played in just 30 games and averaged 10 minutes _ when he played.

``The way it was in Phoenix, it was hard to stay focused and go to practice every day with a good attitude. It was hard to have fun,'' Gugliotta said. ``I was a gerbil in Phoenix, running on the treadmill for countless hours.''

The Jazz acquired Gugliotta and shooting guard Gordan Giricek in separate deals on the Feb. 19 trade deadline. Utah traded DeShawn Stevenson and a conditional second-round draft pick to Orlando for Giricek, whose shooting range is a little longer than Stevenson's.

On Monday, Giricek scored 24 points off the bench to help lead the Jazz to a 94-86 win over the Detroit Pistons. He was 10-for-17 shots, including all four of his 3-point attempts.

``I don't want to say that all the people can expect all the time that I will shoot 4-for-4,'' Giricek said. ``It's not easy to do.''

Gugliotta took over for Michael Ruffin when he sat out with a slight ankle injury, and Sloan expects him to stay there as long as the newest starting lineup continues to play well. Gugliotta, Andrei Kirilenko, Jarron Collins, Carlos Arroyo and rookie Sasha Pavlovic have started the last three games _ and the combination seems to be working.

Center Greg Ostertag, who lost his starting job last month after some lackluster performances, seems rejuvenated when he subs for Collins.

``The guys are playing off the bench pretty well and that's what our intentions were when we changed our starting lineup to begin with _ hoping to get better production off the bench as well as get better production from the starters,'' Sloan said.

Giricek is expected to miss the next two games for the Jazz, starting Friday night at home against Indiana, as he returns to Orlando to be with his wife when she gives birth.

He's gone from the Magic, who are 17-46 and way behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race, to Utah (31-30).

``We are playing pretty good right now, so it's possible we can make playoffs,'' Giricek said. ``That's the wish of everybody.''