Mehmet Okur scored 20 points and Carlos Boozer added 13 as the
Utah Jazz overcame a late deficit for an 86-83 victory over the
Houston Rockets on Sunday.
With the victory, in a game that will likely be a preview for the
first round of the playoffs, the Jazz remain ahead of the Rockets
in fourth place in the Western Conference standings.
Houston led 77-70 before Utah scored five straight points to get
within two with 3:10 remaining. The teams exchanged a pair of
baskets before a three-point play by Matt Harpring gave Utah an
82-81 lead with 1:35 remaining.
Boozer was fouled on a layup and made the free throw to extend
the lead to 85-81 with 43 seconds left. Tracy McGrady pulled
Houston within two on the next possession and the Rockets got the
ball back after a miss by Boozer.
But Rafer Alston badly missed a 3-point attempt with about 10
seconds left and Houston was forced to foul. Okur made only the
first to give the Rockets a chance to tie, but McGrady missed a
3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Yao Ming led the Rockets with 35 points and 16 rebounds, and
also blocked four shots. McGrady added 20 points.
Deron Williams added 12 points, 11 assists and five rebounds for
Utah. Gordan Giricek and Harpring added nine points apiece.
A basket by Giricek with 6:46 remaining got Utah within 71-70,
but two free throws by Yao and two baskets by Juwan Howard
stretched Houston's lead to 77-70 two minutes later. Howard
finished with 10 points.
Houston used an 8-0 run to erase a four-point halftime deficit
and take a 40-36 lead early in the third quarter. After hitting a
pull-up 3-pointer that capped that run, McGrady ran to Yao and the
two exchanged a handshake followed by a chest bump.
The Rockets led 58-49 after Andrei Kirilenko's block of
McGrady's shot tipped it in. The Jazz then outscored Houston 10-3
in the final minutes of the third quarter to cut the lead to
61-59.
Utah led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and was
ahead 36-32 at halftime. Yao scored Houston's first 10 points and
18 of the team's first 22 as McGrady struggled, managing only three
points in the first half until hitting two quick buckets just
before halftime.
(AP via?China Daily April 2, 2007)