Following a loss one night earlier in Charlotte, Jazz star Karl Malone said he probably shouldn't have played.

Detroit's Michael Curry looks to score against Utah's Jarron Collins, right, and Donyell Marshall. The Jazz snapped a four-game losing streak.

Duane Burleson, Associated Press
     Friday night against Detroit, the Mailman did not.
     As it turned out, that was a good thing for Utah.
     With Malone back at the team's Birmingham, Mich., hotel with flu-like symptoms, missing his first game due to injury or illness since 1989, the Jazz were busy snapping a four-game losing streak with a 100-97 victory over the NBA Central Division co-leading Pistons.
     Another Jazz marathon man, 39-year-old point guard John Stockton, took over in the game's final 79 seconds, scoring six points, securing a critical rebound and even blocking a shot as Utah rallied from six down with less than two minutes to go.
     Stockton stood out as Malone did not play for just the eighth time in his 17-season career. Curiously, the Jazz have now won their last six without him ? by an average of 17 points.
     "That's all the respect (from teammates) for him, when you have those things happen," said coach Jerry Sloan, whose 35-30 Jazz cling to the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff position. "You know, they want to try do well because he's not there ? because he's such an important part of what we do."
     So with Malone missing Utah's fourth outing in a five-game trip, Sloan's message was simple: Someone else must step up.