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Karl Malone won't return to action any time soonEL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) Karl Malone is probably headed to the injured list for the first time in his outstanding 19-year career. And Shaquille O'Neal will likely be fined as punishment for not informing the Los Angeles Lakers he was missing practice Wednesday. Malone, the NBA's second-leading career scorer behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee Dec. 21 in the first quarter of a game against Phoenix and hasn't played since. Recovery hasn't gone as quickly as hoped. ``It's a downer,'' Malone said after practice Wednesday. ``You want to be with the guys. The main thing for me to do is all the things I need to do to get better. ``Missing, seven, eight, nine games in one spell when I haven't missed that many in 18 years is discouraging. I feel like I'm letting people down. We want to make sure I come back when I'm supposed to, not a game or two too early.'' The 40-year-old Malone missed 10 games before this season _ six due to injuries or illness and four because of suspensions _ and never sat out more than two games in any one season. He joined the Lakers as a free agent last summer after playing his first 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz. ``If I could just jog from free throw line to free throw line, I could play now,'' Malone said. ``I can't cut. May, June is more important than December, January. ``I look like I'm headed there (to the injury list). Going on the list, I'm looking at (missing) five more games, I don't like that. I don't want to go on the list, but I don't want to hold anybody else back.'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said a decision would probably be made Friday night in Seattle before the Lakers face the SuperSonics. Jackson said Malone definitely won't play at Seattle or against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night, and it's very unlikely he'll travel for games at Minnesota and Denver next week. If Malone is placed on the injured list before Friday night's game, he would also sit out a home game against Atlanta on Jan. 9 and be eligible to return against Cleveland in another home game three days later. Jackson said if Malone is put on the injured list, it's possible Rick Fox will be activated. Fox, who hasn't played since having surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left foot May 12, has said he's close to being ready to play. Jackson said O'Neal ``showed up missing'' for practice. ``When he was contacted, he said he had some back problems,'' Jackson said. ``He was still in bed, was going to see a specialist.'' Jackson said he expects O'Neal to travel to Seattle with the team Thursday, meaning he doesn't believe the injury is serious. By not calling in, O'Neal committed an offense that merited a fine, Jackson said. Jackson said O'Neal hurt himself during practice Tuesday, but said it wasn't a practice-related activity and was uncertain whether it happened in the weight room. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Malone's Status Is UnclearLos Angeles Lakers forward Karl Malone, who sprained his medial collateral ligament Dec. 21, had it examined Sunday but it is still up in the air as to whether he can play on Friday against the Seattle Supersonics. "As of today," Laker spokesperson John Black said, "it would be unlikely he'd be able to play by [Friday]." Via Tim Brown of the Los Angeles Times Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Rest ahead for Lakers and Kings after wins to close 2003The Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings will begin the new year with the NBA's best records after finishing 2003 with victories. Shaquille O'Neal had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and six of his teammates scored in double figures Sunday night in the Lakers' 105-82 victory over the Boston Celtics. The Lakers (21-7) snapped a two-game losing streak in winning for only the third time in seven games following a 10-game winning streak. Sacramento (20-7) also snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Utah 98-89. Peja Stojakovic scored 20 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, finishing 10-of-22 from the field and 13-of-14 on free throws. The Lakers won't play again until Friday against Seattle, while the Kings are off until a Saturday matchup with the Clippers. Both teams were happy to go into those long stretches of downtime with victories. ``You have poor stretches during the season, its natural,'' Kings coach Rick Adelman said. ``We lose to Dallas, lose to Golden State and struggle against Utah. But you have to fight through games like these.'' Elsewhere Sunday, Cleveland defeated Portland 86-74, San Antonio topped Milwaukee 89-74, Toronto beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-88, Phoenix downed Philadelphia 100-92 and Denver defeated Golden State 103-79. Derek Fisher scored 15 points, Devean George added 14, Gary Payton had 13, and Kobe Bryant scored 11 while shooting 5-of-18 for the Lakers, who outrebounded the Celtics 55-35. O'Neal scored the first seven points of the third quarter to give Los Angeles a 64-49 lead. The Celtics drew within eight points before the Lakers outscored them 9-2 to finish the period, making it 79-64. Fisher then scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to give the Lakers a 20-point lead, and another 3-pointer by Fisher with six minutes left made it 93-69. ``The Lakers beat the living hell out of us, so if they were in a slump, they seem to be out of it,'' Boston coach Jim O'Brien said. Following a 10-game winning streak, the Lakers allowed their pervious six opponents to average 104.7 points. But they held the Celtics to 82, only 33 in the second half. ``This gets us back on track,'' O'Neal said. ``Now, we just have to be consistent. It's all about us.'' Kings 98, Jazz 89 At Sacramento, Stojakovic made three 3-pointers and a three-point play during a productive four-minute stretch to help the Kings pull away. ``Peja is one of the best shooters, if not the best shooter in the league,'' teammate Vlade Divac said. ``He understands he is the main guy on this team, especially when we are down.'' Mike Bibby scored 23 points for Sacramento, which has defeated the Jazz five straight times. ``We got away with a win,'' Kings coach Adelman said. ``In a lot of ways, they let us stay in the game. We have a break now and get to prepare for a tough January.'' Cavaliers 86, Trail Blazers 74 At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 32 points, including 12 in a 14-2 game-closing spurt. James scored six straight points to put Cleveland ahead 78-72 with 5:48 to play, then capped the run with the final six points _ the last two on a resounding reverse dunk with 34 seconds left after a steal near midcourt. ``When I heard the crowd after that dunk, I had to stop and say, `Is this really Gund Arena?''' James said. Spurs 89, Bucks 74 At San Antonio, the Spurs won their 13th in a row by holding Milwaukee to its lowest point total of the season. ``The guys have been great making defense their primary focus all these games,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, ``because we have games with too many turnovers and a lot of games where we don't shoot free throws.'' Sunday fit both of those categories: San Antonio had 17 turnovers, though only five in the second half, and went 19-for-35 at the line. Raptors 94, Clippers 88 At Los Angeles, Jalen Rose had 23 points and Vince Carter scored seven of his 22 points in the final 3:44. Donyell Marshall had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who ended an 18-game road losing streak against Western Conference opponents. Suns 100, 76ers 92 At Phoenix, Stephon Marbury scored 16 of his 17 points in the first half to stake the Suns to a 19-point lead and they held on to snap a three-game losing streak. Shawn Marion scored 26 points and Joe Johnson added 23. Nuggets 103, Warriors 79 At Denver, Marcus Camby's 17 points led seven players in double figures to help the Nuggets win their third straight. Denver overcame a miserable first quarter for its 11th win in 13 home games. Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Lakers Dec 2003 Archive
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