The joke going around the Delta Center on Wednesday night was that Jazz forward Karl Malone had contracted the Ben Wallace flu.
 
Malone has missed only six games out a possible 1,373 because of illness or injury. But two of the last three have been against Wallace and the Pistons.
 
The joke was actually that both teams looked sick. The game had the flow and grace of a rugby match, with neither team seemingly eager to win it.
 
But somehow, despite missing 17 consecutive shots and going 15:03 without a field goal in the second half, the Pistons pulled out an 80-78 victory over the Jazz to improve their record to 4-1.