Hornacek burned the Sonics Karl Malone scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and Jeff Hornacek added 23(12 in 1st quater)as the Utah Jazz flirted with disaster before pulling away from the Seattle SuperSonics for a 110-104 victory. Box Score

Hornacek in pressure

Game Features:
Coach Sloan: the best game of the year
"It was a good win; the best game we played all year," said Utah Coach Jerry Sloan, whose team shot better than 50 percent for just the second time this year. Sloan praised point guards Eisley and Vaughn, who combined for 24 points and 11 assists. "If we'd get the rest of our four guys to play as hard as they are playing, we'd be all right," Sloan said. Hornacek was 8-for-14 with two 3-pointers, and Eisley, who scored a career-high 18 points, was 7-for-11 overall and 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
Greg Ostertag continued play terrible
Greg Ostertag continued to play poorly, compiling just six points and three rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench. He did make 4-of-6 free throws, but twice was the subject of harsh words from his own team -- once from Coach Jerry Sloan and once from Karl Malone. In his last four games, Ostertag is 2-of-16 from the field.
Eisley & Vaughn, the Jazz duos did a great job
Eisley had his second-straight strong performance by playing Gary Payton at least even on Friday night, but he wasn't the only Jazz point guard to get his game going. Backup Jacque Vaughn scored six points and handed out five assists, and more importantly broke out of a brutal shooting slump. Though he seemed gun-shy and passed on some open shots in the first half, Vaughn buried back-to-back baseline jumpers from opposite sides of the basket late in the third quarter to end a 1-for-16 skid. ``He hit some big shots,'' said Eisley.
Howard Eisley added a career-high 18 points, including three three-pointers, as Utah made 7-of-13 from behind the arc. "I try to hold my own every game I go out there and I think I can hold my own against anyone if I go out and play as well I can," said Eisley. "But you know Gary Payton is a very good ballplayer and you try not to let him dominate a ballgame."