LOS ANGELES, April 28 -- Karl Malone scored six of his 26 points in a run that closed the first half and the Utah Jazz completed the first playoff sweep in franchise history Monday night with a 104-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in their Western Conference first- round series. Jeff Hornacek had 28 points to lead the Jazz, the top seed in the West.
Utah will play the winner of series between Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals. The Lakers lead that best- of-five series, 2-0. Loy Vaught, who missed the entire second quarter with foul trouble, scored 20 points and Brent Barry added 17 for the Clippers, who have failed to get out of the first round on three trips to the playoffs since moving to Los Angeles. It was the first time in franchise history they were swept.
