Sloan not blaming Arroyo for team's recent slump

"We're back on our home court (tonight)," co-captain Matt Harpring said. "We've got to come out and play like it, and come out with the energy that the Spurs came out against us with. That's in the past. We're going to forget about that, and move on to this game."

Sloan, though, may find it hard to forget.

His Jazz, remember, have lost 18 straight to the Spurs.

"I admire them for the way they play," Sloan said. "They play the game the right way, and they compete the right way."

MALONE UPDATE: Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss said Sunday he was confident ex-Jazz star Karl Malone will return to the Lakers if he opts to resume his NBA career later this season.

San Antonio and Minnesota reportedly remain interested too.

"I think every team in the league could use him and would want him . . . He's getting offers, probably two or three a day," Buss told the Los Angeles Times. "I am confident that if he plays, he'll be a Laker. He has said that publicly in the papers, and he has told me that personally as well."

Malone is fully recovered from June microfracture surgery on his right knee, but probably won't make a decision on his future until after Christmas.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com