FloaterDaily Brief
Saturday, May 16, 1998Playoffs · 1 game
← May 13CalendarMay 17 →

1 game, none went to overtime. Every winner was ahead or tied at every quarter break.

Final · CF · G1
LAL77
UTA112
Q1 UTA +11; Q2 UTA +26; Q3 UTA +26; Q4 UTA +35
Bars under each score: who led after each quarter, from the winner's side. winner ahead behind behind in a 10+ point comeback tied
On this day · 1996–97May 16, 1997: 1 game. Top scorer: Alonzo Mourning (MIA @ NYK), 28 points.
The lead · Conference finals · Game 1 · LAL @ UTA

Utah draws first blood against Lakers

Utah won Game 1 of the conference finals, 112–77. Karl Malone led Utah with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

Game flow · UTA margin at each break
Quarter-end scores only (4 points), so swings inside a period don't show.
-45-35-25-15-5+5+15+25+35+45TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0+11+26+26+35UTA AHEAD ↑LAL AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
LAL1322301277
UTA24373021112
Who led
Karl MalonePoints, last 10 games: 29, 19, 29, 31, 25, 22, 18, 34, 24, 29UTA29 PTS · 10 REB · 4 AST
Howard EisleyPoints, last 10 games: 7, 10, 4, 8, 2, 3, 7, 2, 8, 14UTA14 PTS · 2 REB · 9 AST
Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 30, 19, 36, 31, 27, 26, 30, 39, 31, 19LAL19 PTS · 8 REB · 0 AST
Kobe BryantPoints, last 10 games: 17, 25, 15, 4, 4, 22, 4, 0, 7, 16LAL16 PTS · 4 REB · 2 AST
Fantasy angleRecent playoff games against each player's regular-season average.
Losing minutes
−13.9minutes, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
25.6Reg. season avg11.7Last 3 playoff games

11.7 minutes a game over his last three playoff games, against 25.6 in the regular season (80 games). Today: 5 points in 10 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+14.5minutes, today vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
10.0Reg. season avg24.5Today

25 minutes today, against 10.0 a game in the regular season (54 games). Line: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists.

Cooling off
−7.7points, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Points per game
15.4Reg. season avg7.7Last 3 playoff games

7.7 points a game over his last three playoff games, against 15.4 in the regular season (79 games). Today: 16 points in 31 minutes.

Top performances

Karl Malone leads the day with 29

Sparkline: points in his last 10 games, tonight in pink. Black tag: most points in a game this season to date, or in his career when his whole career is in our box scores (after 5+ games). Plus/minus: points tonight against his average before tonight.
Karl MalonePoints, last 10 games: 29, 19, 29, 31, 25, 22, 18, 34, 24, 29UTA vs LAL · W
25.9 PPG playoffs to date · +3.4 vs his playoff average before tonight
29 PTS · 10 REB · 4 AST
Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 30, 19, 36, 31, 27, 26, 30, 39, 31, 19LAL @ UTA · L
28.8 PPG playoffs to date · −10.9 vs his playoff average before tonight
19 PTS · 8 REB · 0 AST
Kobe BryantPoints, last 10 games: 17, 25, 15, 4, 4, 22, 4, 0, 7, 16LAL @ UTA · L
9.0 PPG playoffs to date · +8.0 vs his playoff average before tonight
16 PTS · 4 REB · 2 AST
Rick FoxPoints, last 10 games: 9, 24, 15, 16, 14, 2, 6, 0, 17, 15LAL @ UTA · L
11.8 PPG playoffs to date · +3.6 vs his playoff average before tonight
15 PTS · 3 REB · 2 AST
Howard EisleyPoints, last 10 games: 7, 10, 4, 8, 2, 3, 7, 2, 8, 14UTA vs LAL · W
6.1 PPG playoffs to date · +8.7 vs his playoff average before tonight
14 PTS · 2 REB · 9 AST
Shandon AndersonPoints, last 10 games: 10, 4, 15, 2, 6, 4, 6, 3, 2, 10UTA vs LAL · W
6.1 PPG playoffs to date · +4.3 vs his playoff average before tonight
10 PTS · 11 REB · 2 AST