LOS ANGELES, 10 March 2004 — Former Utah Jazz great Karl Malone was given a rough homecoming as the Jazz capitalized on the ejection of Shaquille O’Neal to beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 88-83 Monday night.

Andrei Kirilenko had 15 points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots and one-punch in the head for Utah.

The Lakers led 72-68 after O’Neal picked up a loose ball and slammed down a thunderous one-handed dunk with 3:57 remaining. But on the follow-through, his right elbow caught Kirilenko on the top of the head. O’Neal protested vehemently and had to be restrained by teammates after he was called for his second technical foul by referee Bob Delaney.

Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson protested the subsequent ejection to the point where he can expect to be fined by the league.

“When Shaq spins 360 degrees and dunks the ball through the basket, his momentum is probably going to carry him another percentage of distance,” he said. “There was contact but it wasn’t deliberate. It was a follow-through after he dunked the ball.

“It takes a prejudiced person to see it,” he added. “Delaney is known to be prejudiced against Shaq. It’s as simple as that, so we wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a good call.”

The complexion of the game changed without O’Neal inside to clog up the middle. Gordon Giricek hit the go-ahead jumper, Kirilenko buried 3-pointer and two free throws to spark a decisive 11-0 run as the Jazz pulled away.

Jackson said he thought O’Neal’s dismissal decided the outcome.

“The fact that they went on an 11-0 run, there’s enough said in a simple sentence,” he concluded.

Giricek scored 21 points and Raul Lopez added 17 for Utah, which snapped a five-game slide to the Lakers.

Gary Payton scored 21 points for the short-handed Lakers, while O’Neal finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Los Angeles played without injured Kobe Bryant, Horace Grant and flu-ridden Slava Medvedenko.

Though Malone has been sidelined with a sprained right knee since December, the Jazz’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder made his first return to Utah since leaving as a free agent this summer to pursue a championship ring, but was not activated for the game.

Instead, he sat on the bench in street clothes and was never introduced to the fans, who cheered the future Hall of Famer for 18 seasons.

Mavericks 103 Suns 90

Dirk Nowitzki hit his first seven shots and scored 18 of his 26 points in the opening half, helping the Mavericks to their ninth consecutive home victory.

Antawn Jamison added 21 points off the bench for Dallas, which led 56-41 at the break en route to improving its league best home mark to 29-4.

Shawn Marion led Phoenix with 29 points along with 13 rebounds and eight assists. Amare Stoudemire finished with 19 points.

Cavaliers 108 Hawks 102

LeBron James made three key free throws in the final minute to cap a 34-point effort, leading the visiting Cavaliers to their fourth consecutive victory.

Carlos Boozer had 25 points and 10 rebounds while Jeff McInnis added 14 points and 10 assists for Cleveland, which moved one-half game past Miami and Toronto for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Stephen Jackson scored a career-high 30 points and Chris Crawford netted 25 as Atlanta fell for the fifth time in the last six games.

76ers 97 Bucks 92

Little-used reserves Greg Buckner and Zendon Hamilton had season-highs of 20 points and 19 respectively, as the short-handed 76ers overcame a 20-point second-quarter deficit.

Eric Snow had 17 points and 12 assists while Kenny Thomas had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won back-to-back games for the first time in more than two months without star guard Allen Iverson (right knee injury).

Michael Redd scored 20 points and Desmond Mason added 18 in Milwaukee’s third straight setback.