Utah Jazz: Rockets set game's tone early
"We have to get in this game early," Adelman said. "We can't let them get on top of us. If they do, their crowd really gets into it. It's a tough place to play anyway. It's important for our mindset that we get in this game and we maintain some type of control and not let them get control."
Mission accomplished.
The Rockets kept Jazz fans, all decked out in their new white T-shirts, relatively quiet in the first half because Houston led almost the entire way.
Utah and its crowd finally got going midway through the third quarter. But the Rockets were in striking distance in the fourth and they came up big down the stretch to come away with a 93-92 victory. The Jazz still lead the series 2-1, but can't sweep the series now. It also means that their will be at least one return trip to Houston.
"Our backs were against the wall. We were down 0-2," said Rockets star Tracy McGrady. "We came into a hostile environment, but we are a confident group."
"I was more assertive at the offensive end and got myself going (late in the fourth quarter)," said McGrady, who finished with a game-high 27 points.
Houston got a huge boost to open the game by having starting point guard Rafer Alston in the lineup for the first time in the series. Alston missed the final couple of games in the regular season and the first two games of the series due to a strained left hamstring.
"Except for practice yesterday, (Alson) really hasn't played for 10 days, so I'm going to watch him," Adelman said before the game. "I would think that he will probably go in 7- or 8-minute spurts."
He went more than that. Alston played the first 11 minutes of the game and was on fire. He made his first four shots, including three 3-pointers, to finish the first quarter with 11 points and two assists and leading the Rockets to a 27-23 lead.
Alson finished with 20 points and five assists in 35 minutes of play.
"Rafer really helped us out a lot because they couldn't leave him," said McGrady. "If they would leave him, he was knocking down shots. It was just one-on-on (for me) tonight. In the first two games I was receiving double teams."
The Rockets also got a huge night off the bench from Carl Landry who suffered a broken nose and lost a tooth, but still managed to pull down 11 boards, score seven points and then have a game-saving blocked shot in the final seconds.
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com
Recent comments
You Rocket fans are missing the whole point! Let's say in games...
Big-D | April 25, 2008 at 4:38 p.m.
IF ROCKETS MADE HALF OF THOSE MISSED FREE THROW IN GAME 1 AND 2....
Anonymous | April 25, 2008 at 12:57 p.m.
Go make comments on your own paper! Enjoy your sole victory of the...
re: the true fan | April 25, 2008 at 10:32 a.m.
