News / Sports
NBA Scores: Jazz Shut Down Rockets in Second Half, Take Game Three
Carlos Boozer scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz past the Houston Rockets 81-67 to earn their first win of their Western Conference playoff series and put the series at 2-1.
The Jazz won despite hitting just 38 percent from the field and managed to drop just 2-13 three-point attempts. Boozer got little offensive help from his teammates as Deron Williams was 5-18, Mehmet Okur was 2-12 and Matt Harpring was 4-12.
Fortunately for the Jazz the Rockets were equally inept from the floor and shot just 32 percent from the field. Yao Ming led the Rockets with 26 points and 14 rebounds but Houston didn’t get a single point from their bench.
Part of the Rockets problem was the shot disparity in the game. Utah attempted 85 shots compared to Houston’s 64 attempts.
Houston was down by six heading into the third quarter but pulled to within two early in the second half on a Ming jumper. The Rockets stayed close for the first seven minutes of the period but Shane Battier’s three-pointer with 5:26 left on the clock was the last field goal Houston would hit for ten minutes.
By the time the Rockets hit their next field goal the Jazz were up by ten with 7:26 remaining in the game. Utah used a 15-4 run to push their lead to 17 and Houston was done.
Both teams will meet in Utah on Saturday for game four of their best of seven series.
