SALT LAKE CITY - Olden Polynice embraces his role as a rebounder and defender for the Utah Jazz. Then there are those special nights where he revisits his former life as a scorer.

Karl Malone scored 21 points and Polynice added a season-high 15 on 7-of-9 shooting as the Utah Jazz beat the Vancouver Grizzlies 101-83 Wednesday night. Y'all are acting like I just started playing this game, Polynice told reporters clustered around his locker. I just try to stay within my role on this team.

Go back a couple of years, and I was able to put the ball in the basket for some teams.

The salad days for Polynice as a scorer were four seasons in the mid-1990s when he averaged between 10.8 and 12.5 points a game for the Sacramento Kings. But he has given that up in two seasons with Utah.

I'll trade all the personal statistics for a W, said Polynice, who averages 5.5 points.

Donyell Marshall added 19 points as the Jazz, who have the best winning percentage in the Western Conference, won for the eighth time in nine games.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 19 points to lead Vancouver and Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson each scored 17. But with Polynice heating up, the Grizzlies lost their fifth in a row.

It's tough to beat a team with a guy who, coming into the game, you don't expect him to do that much, Abdur-Rahim said. It just puts you in a bad way, already going with the caliber of players they have.

Earlier in the day, the NBA gave Vancouver owner Michael Heisley more time to relocate to another city, but it wasn't big news to the team.

Don't make a difference, said coach Sidney Lowe. We'll just play basketball. When we get word the team is moving, if we do, then we'll go.

Malone scored nine in the third quarter as the Jazz pulled away. And Polynice, a seven-foot centre who isn't usually expected to score, provided eight points in the period to give the Jazz a lift.

Polynice is on a roll, scoring in double figures for the third straight game. He scored 10 points in each of the previous two games, Monday against Atlanta and Sunday at Phoenix.

He credited his recent rededication to religion, along with a talk with coach Jerry Sloan the day after he went scoreless and played only four minutes during a victory over Sacramento on Feb. 18.

There's no trick, Polynice said. I've been doing a lot of praying and I think that's been a part of it.

I'm more focused I think it also has a lot to do with the conversation I had with Jerry. It got me back on track.

Utah shot 59 per cent and improved to 21-1 all-time against the Grizzlies, who stunned the Jazz last season at the Delta Center but couldn't find the same kind of magic again.

it. The Jazz built first-half leads of 31-25 and 49-43 and seemed ready to break it open each time, only to see Vancouver come back.

Even when Utah used an 8-0 run for a 65-55 lead midway through the third quarter, Bibby scored six straight for the Grizzlies to make it close again. But that's when Malone and Polynice took over.