PATRICK REUSSE
The expansion Timberwolves were playing the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City in mid-February 1990. The Wolves had lost 13 straight on the road and the Jazz had won a team-record 13 in a row at home.
Bill Musselman, the Wolves coach, was encountered in the hotel lobby and was asked: "What are you going to do with Karl Malone tonight?"
It took one second for Musselman to respond: "We're going to zone the Hades out of him," or something like that.
The Muss was not deterred by the fact that the NBA had prohibited zone defense starting in January 1947 and that ban was not lifted until the 2001-02 season.