ORLANDO, Fla., March 12 (UPI) -- Karl Malone scored 40 points Wednesday night, became just the second player in NBA history to reach 36,000 and came up with a key steal in the waning seconds to help the Utah Jazz cap a 111-108 comeback victory over the Orlando Magic.
"After all these years, winning is still fun," said Malone, who turns 40 in July. "Winning makes my food taste better."
"He's playing extremely well right now," said Utah Coach Jerry Sloan. "He's had a great year, considering his age and the way he takes care of himself. It's unbelievable to me that he's still playing."
The Jazz trailed, 104-95, after a pair of free throws by Andrew DeClercq with 5 1/2 minutes remaining, but they stormed back to take a 109-107 lead on two free throws by Andrei Kirilenko with 1:43 left.
The score remained unchanged when John Stockton missed a runner in the paint with five seconds left.
DeClercq grabbed the rebound under the basket and passed to Darrell Armstrong, but Malone intercepted the pass and was fouled with 1.5 seconds left. He made one of two from the line to give the Jazz a three-point cushion and they fouled sharpshooter Pat Garrity before he could attempt a shot.
Garrity sank the first free throw to make it 110-108 with nine-tenths of a second to go but did not hit the rim while attempting to intentionally miss the second. Malone made one of two from the line and rookie Gordan Giricek was well off on a length-of-the-court shot at the buzzer.
Malone joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) in the 36,000-point club. In addition to his season high in points, he had nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Stockton and Harpring added 12 points apiece for Utah, which has won back-to-back games after losing five of seven. Six players reached double figures for the Jazz, who shot 54 percent and limited Orlando to 43 percent.
Tracy McGrady scored 32 points and Garrity 20 off the bench for the Magic, who have dropped two in a row after winning eight of 10.
"When you dig yourself a hole and you try and get yourself back into the game, the effort is great and everything is good, (but) when you finally get yourself back in there, it's like you don't have enough energy to get yourself over the hump," McGrady said.
The Magic were coming off a 106-105 loss at Washington on Tuesday, while the Jazz had a day off.
Orlando failed in a bid for its first season sweep of Utah since the 1993-94 campaign, when it was led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway.
Malone joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) in the 36,000-point club. In addition to his season high in points, he had nine rebounds, seven assists, and four steals.
