Sun Apr 27 01:59:11 2008

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Okur and Jazz take 3-1 series lead over Houston

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Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Mehmet Okur finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds, and made two key free throws in the final minute to help Utah top Houston, 86-82, in Game 4 of this Western Conference quarterfinal.

The win gives the Jazz a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and an opportunity to close it out in Game 5, set for Tuesday back in Houston.

"They're not going to give it to you," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said about the next game. "You go to their place, they're going to knock you around all night long and see if you can stand up to it. I think it's good basketball."

Deron Williams led Utah with 17 points and added nine assists, while Carlos Boozer ended with 14 points and 14 boards. Ronnie Brewer added 12 points and Andrei Kirilenko 11 for the Jazz, who shot 0-for-14 from three-point range.

Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but the Rockets fell closer to losing to the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year.

"It was a lot more physical this game than it was the last game," McGrady said. "They were bodying me up as soon as I crossed half-court."

Rafer Alston contributed 15 points, and Carl Landry added 13 off the bench.

Houston was frequently down throughout the game, thanks to multiple scoring droughts, but never completely out and nearly erased a nine-point deficit in the final minute. Shane Battier and Alston connected on threes, the latter coming with 15 ticks remaining to cut Utah's lead to 82-80.

Kyle Korver was fouled, and made both with 12.5 left to give the Jazz a two- possession lead. But Landry slammed a put-back dunk, and after Williams was fouled with 7.3 on the clock, the Jazz point guard missed both.

The ensuing scramble for the ball resulted in a Houston foul and Okur going to the line. He made both with 5.5 left for an 86-82 edge, and Kirilenko blocked the Rockets' final shot to preserve the win.

Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Alston fought off Boozer in the lane to throw in an awkward layup, but made it and converted the free throw to trim the Rockets' deficit to 68-67. However, Houston didn't score for the next five minutes, during which time Utah reeled off eight points.

Williams drove into the lane for a pair of tough layups, Boozer had a jumper for his first points of the half, and Korver connected on a mid-range shot to put Utah up 76-67 at the midway point.

Meanwhile, Houston missed four shots, had one shot blocked and the ball stolen twice, and committed an offensive foul.

"I thought we took some really hurried shots tonight," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said. "I thought we took some tough shots. When a team is physical like Utah is and they get after you, you can't panic."

The Rockets still weren't out of the game, and were back within five when a Landry layup cut the Utah lead to 78-73 with just over three minutes left.

But after a Jazz timeout, Williams sprinted through the lane and threw down a dunk. Kirilenko then swiped the ball, and Williams drove through the middle of the lane again for a layup and an 82-73 Jazz lead with 2:04 on the clock, though Utah couldn't close the game out easily.

Battier made 3-of-4 three-point attempts and finished with 10 points, while Korver also scored 10 -- though, the Jazz sharpshooter missed all six of his shots from beyond the arc.

A Battier free throw closed out a back-and-forth first quarter, giving Houston a slight, 23-21, edge.

Utah, though, took the lead in the middle of the second stanza as the Rockets' offense went dormant. Bobby Jackson's layup with 7:42 left put Houston up by a 32-29 score, but was also Houston's last points of any kind for 4 1/2 minutes.

In that span the Jazz reeled off nine points, and a Williams free throw pushed Utah's advantage to 38-32.

Near the end of the half, Kirilenko tipped in a shot for a nine-point Utah edge, but Landry made the second of two foul shots to bring the Rockets within 46-38 at the break.

Houston endured another offensive drought coming out of halftime, as the team didn't make a field goal until Battier drained a three with 7:33 remaining. Utah again took advantage, as two Brewer buckets in the paint spurred a 10-2 run that Okur ended with a jumper to push the Jazz lead to 56-40.

But Battier's three seemed to wake up the Rockets, as McGrady followed with a three of his own, and Alston closed out a 13-3 surge with another trey to bring the Rockets within 59-53.

The teams stayed close for the rest of the stanza, with the Jazz taking a 66-61 lead into the fourth.

Game Notes

Utah finished 24-for-31 from the free throw line, while Houston made 17-of-25 foul shots...The Jazz held a 48-41 edge on the boards...The Rockets made 7- of-22 three-point attempts.