Rockets at Jazz - 4/11/99 (Highlights)

The NBA on NBC made another return to Salt Lake City, this time for a Sunday afternoon matchup between the 26-8 Utah Jazz and the 23-12 Houston Rockets. The contest also featured five of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history - Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Karl Malone). The Jazz jumped out to a 24-12 lead at the end of the first-quarter, and maintained an 11-point lead going into halftime. After withstanding an Olajuwon-led Rocket run, Utah put Houston away in the 4th-quarter behind the pick-and-roll execution of John Stockton and Karl Malone, winning 85-76. Although Malone would only shoot 6-16 (16 points, 10 rebounds), Utah received offensive production from Bryon Russell (19 poits, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) Jeff Hornacek (13 points), and John Stockton (12 points, 7 assists, 3 steals), as well as a game-altering performance from Greg Ostertag (11 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks) in the middle. Houston was led by Hakeem Olajuwon ( 23 points and 12 rebounds, 3 blocks) but Hakeem received little help from the rest of the "Big Three" as Scottie Pippen (10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Charles Barkley (6 points, 11 rebounds) combined to shoot just 6-17 from the field. Perhaps the most significant play of the game involved Karl Malone delivering a blow to Othella Harrington in the 3rd-quarter after Harrington grabbed Malone as he turned to run upcort -- a move that earned Malone a flagarant foul and a 1-game suspension.