Salt Lake City ? Karl Malone was as steady as ever. And once again, Rasheed Wallace was an emotional disaster.

Malone scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds and Scott Padgett came off the bench for 11 points, hitting 5-of-8, as the Utah Jazz outlasted the Portland Trail Blazers, 97-96, Saturday.

Portland's Rasheed Wallace (30) shoots over Utah's Karl Malone. The Jazz edged the Trail Blazers, 97-96, Saturday in Salt Lake City.

John Stockton added 17 points and nine assists and hit a big layup with 36.5 seconds to play as Utah ended Portland’s five-game winning streak.

“We’ll take it,” Stockton said. “They’re a good team and they’re playing well. That’s a good victory for us, regardless of the circumstances.”

The Jazz also were relieved because they won the season series 3-1.

“Every year when the season’s over, we look back on two or three games separating us from a particular playoff spot,” said Malone, who shot 9-of-16. “We’ve got the tiebreaker. We’re 3-1 against these guys.”

Bonzi Wells led the Blazers with 24 points, scoring 11 in the first quarter. Scottie Pippen had 17 points while Damon Stoudamire scored 14.

The Jazz won in their final home game until Feb. 28. Next comes a franchise-record nine-game road trip while the Delta Center stages figure skating and short-track speedskating during the Winter Olympics.

The Western Conference rivals put on quite a show, with a game that featured plenty of hot shooting, scrambling for loose balls and a meltdown by Wallace, Portland’s temperamental forward.

Wallace was ejected midway through the third quarter after he yelled in the face of referee Hue Hollins, arguing that he’d been fouled. Wallace, who last season led the NBA with 41 technicals, left with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Pistons 115, Cavaliers 107

Cleveland Jerry Stackhouse scored 23 points 18 in the second half as Detroit made 42 free throws and won its fourth straight road game. Corliss Williamson added 17 for the Pistons, who used a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Cavs and won for the fifth time in six games.

Hawks 101, Clippers 94

Atlanta Jason Terry scored 30 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 27 as Atlanta snapped a six-game losing streak. The Hawks, who had lost 12 of 13, trailed by 13 points in the third quarter before rallying. Eric Piatkowski scored 22 to lead Los Angeles.

Bulls 97, Sonics 91

Seattle A.J. Guyton scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as Chicago overcame a 13-point deficit to earn a rare road victory. The Bulls ended a 26-game road losing streak against Western Conference teams, dating to a victory over the Clippers on Feb. 6, 2000, in Los Angeles.

76ers 86, Bucks 81

Milwaukee Allen Iverson scored 25 points, and Derrick Coleman added 19 as Philadelphia rallied late to defeat Milwaukee in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference finals. Anthony Mason’s rebound basket put Milwaukee on top 76-71 with 5:43 remaining, but the Sixers responded with seven consecutive points. Two free throws by Coleman gave Philadelphia a 78-76 lead with 1:57 left.

Nets 98, Raptors 91

East Rutherford, N.J. Jason Kidd had 31 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his second straight triple-double, leading New Jersey past Toronto. Kidd, who also had a triple-double Thursday against Milwaukee, did it all for the Nets on an afternoon when Kenyon Martin was plagued by foul trouble.