Houston Rockets center Tracy McGrady scored 7 of his 27 points in the final period, leading his team to a 94-92 victory over Utah Jazz.
With the Rockets down 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs, Tracy McGrady scoring 7 points was crucial. Rafer Alston also scored 20 points and 5 assists in his first game in almost 2 weeks as the Rockets avoided falling behind 3-0 in the series by defeating the team that had the best home record in the NBA during the regular season. McGrady scored all of his 7 points in the last 3:29, breaking out of a 4th quarter slump and ending with 27 to lead the Rockets to a 94-92 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Carl Landry had 11 rebounds and blocked Deron Williams' shot which could have won it for Utah right before the buzzer. Williams had 28 points and 12 assists. The Rockets were 2-0 coming to Utah, where the Jazz had the best home record in the NBA. One of Utah’s 4 losses in Salt Lake City was to Houston, which won the Jazz’s home opener and then did it again. Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 13 rebounds while Mehmet Okur scored 12 and pulled down 11 boards for Utah. Their poor free throw shooting caught up with them in the 4th quarter when McGrady started scoring.
“This was a very emotional win for us,” said McGrady. “We played like we really didn't want to go home early. We played with a lot of passion and a lot of heart.” McGrady scored 1 point in the 4th quarter of the first 2 games of the series, which Utah won in Houston to take a commanding 2-0 lead back home. However, this time around, McGrady's lead the Rockets from a 7 point deficit.
Game 4 in the series is back in Utah, where the Jazz were 37-4 this year. The Jazz will try to avoid doing the same thing Houston did during last season's opening round against Utah. The Rockets won the first 2 games of that series, then lost the next 2 and eventually the series in 7 games.
McGrady ended up tying the game at 86 on a foul shot with 3:29 remaining. He then gave Houston the lead with 2 more from the line with 2:50 left. He added a 19-foot jumper with 2:16 on the clock which was his first 4th quarter field goal of the series. He then followed with a 20-footer, giving Houston a 92-86 lead.
Utah went 20 for 33 from the foul line, getting 11 more chances than the Rockets but failing to capitalize. Kyle Korver hit a 3-pointer, McGrady was called for an offensive foul and Okur hit another 3 to draw the Jazz within 93-92 with 37 seconds remaining. McGrady missed at the other end and Utah had a chance to win. However, Landry blocked Williams' shot from the lane and the rebound went to Luis Scola, who was fouled and went 1 for 2 from the line with 0.2 seconds on the clock.
The poor shooting from the line and the resurgence of McGrady were enough to guarantee Houston will be at Game 5. “No one thought The Rockets could defeat Utah. However, they executed their game plan and took away what they wanted.
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