By JOEL WHITE
Antoine Carr scored the decisive basket with only 15 seconds left to play to lead the Utah Jazz over the Sonics 99-95 Wednesday night at Seattle.
With the Jazz ahead 94-93, Utah guard John Stockton got the ball to Karl Malone, who in turn passed it off to an open Carr who scored on an easy slam-dunk while being fouled on the play. The ensuing free throw added to the Jazz lead.
“Karl got the ball and gave me a little look,” said Carr, who had 13 points. “He’s got this look out of the corner of his eye that says, ‘Get ready, here it comes.’ He gave that look to me, and I was ready. All I had to do was catch the ball and put it in. My part was easy.”
Stockton was able to break through Seattle’s half-court trap to get the ball to Malone at the free throw line. Seattle forward Sam Perkins, who was guarding Carr, came off to cover Malone, leaving Carr open. After the Malone pass, Perkins tried to go back and impede Carr’s shot, fouling him in the process.
“I was a little surprised by that (the Sonics’ trap),” Malone said. “We work on that a lot. When a team traps you, you’ve got to attack it. So that’s what I did. If the shot was there, I was going to take it. If the pass was there, I was going to do that.”
“Karl made the play,” Stockton said. “He’s got a layup if Sam doesn’t come over, and then he made a great pass.”
After the game, Utah coach Jerry Sloan said, “We got the ball to the right places a time or two. Usually if we get ourselves to the right spots and get the ball to the right position, we can get good shots.”
Malone finished with 26 points and three assists, while Stockton finished with 13 assists and nine points. Greg Ostertag, in a surprise start at center, scored 19, while Jeff Hornacek added 14. The win moved Utah’s record to 33-14, atop the Midwest Division of the Western Conference.
