OGDEN, Utah (AP) _ During the regular season, it would be far-fetched for the Utah Jazz to have Torraye Braggs starting ahead of Karl Malone and Quincy Lewis in front of Jeff Hornacek.

It's no problem to let the rookies into the starting lineup when Utah's aging stars are aching during exhibition games.

Braggs filled in nicely for the injured Malone, scoring 12 of his 14 points in a first-quarter run as the Jazz beat the Vancouver Grizzlies 98-86 in the exhibition opener for both teams.

``It felt good,'' said Braggs, who hit 6-of-9 from the field on Wednesday night. ``I rushed at first. I was real nervous. It was nice to play and nice to play against actual NBA players.''

Bryon Russell came off the bench to lead the Jazz with 21 points while John Stockton added 12 and Adam Keefe scored 10.

Both rookies played 22 minutes but Braggs had the better statistics. Lewis scored four points, shooting 2-of-6 on field goals before fouling out with 1:37 to play in the third.

Malone, who earned his second league MVP award last season during his 14th year in the NBA, strained a muscle in his lower back last week at training camp.

``He's had some problems with his lower back,'' said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. ``I don't know how he would be if it was the regular season.''

Malone, 36, didn't make the trip 45 miles north to Ogden, staying home in Salt Lake City to rest. Hornacek, who strained his right quadricep in practice earlier in the week, sat on the Utah bench in street clothes.

Thirteen of the 15 Jazz players who suited up saw action.

``We used a lot of different rotations and saw a lot of different people play,'' Sloan said. ``That's our job right now.''

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Grizzlies with 17 points. Othella Harrington had 12 and Grant Long 10.

Hornacek was cheered when he took the public address microphone just before tipoff. He gave a bogus telephone number to the crowd of 7,656 so fans could call Malone and offer their sympathy.

The fans might have missed Malone but the Jazz didn't.

Braggs, who was drafted by Utah in the second round in 1998 but played last year in Spain, made sure of that by leading the scoring spurt that swung the game in Utah's favor.

Braggs sparked a 22-4 run over the last seven minutes of the first quarter as the Jazz erased a 13-6 deficit. Even with Stockton directing the offense, Utah started slow and committed five turnovers in the first 2 1/2 minutes.

The Jazz regrouped, taking a timeout with 6:48 left in the first quarter, and Braggs came out of the break by scoring Utah's next two baskets. Stockton added a layup on a long pass from rookie Quincy Lewis.

After the Jazz took a 16-15 lead on Stockton's 3-point play with 4:30 remaining in the period, they never trailed again.

``We came out with good defensive energy but as they played up their defensive energy, we broke down a little bit with our offensive execution,'' said Vancouver coach Brian Hill.

Utah led 47-38 at halftime and the Grizzlies made a brief run to start the second half, cutting the margin to 54-49 on a 3-pointer by Michael Dickerson and two free throws by Long.

Baskets by Greg Ostertag, Stockton and Keefe helped the Jazz stretch the lead to 61-51 with 6:06 remaining in the third.