During Sacramento's 89-86 victory in Game 1, Malone apparently sensed his teammates were being hesitant. Perhaps they were overly concerned about jamming the ball into him as he searched for a crease in the Kings' zonelike defense.

Malone wanted to talk. According to Donyell Marshall, "He pulled us aside and said, 'Take those shots, if they're going to put two or three guys on me.' "

Recalling the moment, Marshall laughed.

"When you've got the main man telling you that," he said, "you've got to listen or he's going to get mad at you."