HOU 95, UTA 69
Tracy McGrady strapped the Houston Rockets to his back and helped will them to a season-saving win, 95-69, over the Utah Jazz at home on Tuesday night in Game Five.

McGrady posted 29 points and 5 rebounds and Luis Scola added 18 points and 11 boards for the Rockets, who shot 47% from the floor and outrebounded Utah by eight.

Carlos Boozer led with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Deron Williams had a mediocre night with 13 points and 6 assists for the Jazz, who made just 36% of field goals attempts and turned the ball over eighteen times.

Houston led by eleven heading into the second half, and used huge third and fourth quarter runs to put the game out of reach well before the final buzzer.

Utah led 10-8 early in the first quarter, but never held the lead again as the Rockets began running away with the game.

Game Six will be Friday night in Utah as the Jazz look to close out the series once again.

Game FIC Scores
Luis Scola, HOU - 15.1
Tracy McGrady, HOU - 14.3
Carlos Boozer, UTA - 11.3
Ronnie Brewer, UTA - 10.0

Tracy McGrady may have an excuse for his disappearance in the fourth quarters of the Rockets series against the Jazz, according to the Houston Chronicle.

He revealed on Monday that he's playing on a sore left knee that is so bad it requires painkilling injections just to take the floor.

Offseason surgery isn't out of the question.

"It is back to that situation where it was in the beginning of the season," McGrady said. "I'm still playing. I played on it the other night. I took a couple of shots. I'll be playing on it."

Yao Ming is working extra hard to recover from the broken foot that sidelined him for more than half of the season, according to the Houston Chronicle.

He has been working with medicine balls, weight benches, dumbbells and a reduced-gravity treadmill.

Yao has been cleared to lose his crutches and at times, remove his protective boot.

"He is so driven," conditioning coach Dave Macha said. "No question. Yao is driven to a higher standard than most guys. He pushes himself. He relishes any opportunity to work hard and make himself better. It's something I think is innate in him as an individual. He wants to get better. He wants to get stronger."

- UTA 86, HOU 82
The Utah Jazz took a 3-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets with a big win in Game Four on Saturday night.

Mehmet Okur posted 14 points and 18 rebounds and Deron Williams tallied 17 points and 9 assists for the Jazz, who outrebounded Houston by seven while going 0-for-14 from behind the three-point line.

Tracy McGrady had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and Carl Landry added 13 points and 6 boards off the bench for the Rockets, who shot just 36% from the floor and turned the ball over only ten times against Utah.

McGrady scored just four points in the fourth quarter and was basically a non-factor in the final moments, with the game still undecided.

Game Five will be Tuesday night in Houston as the Rockets look to stay alive against the Jazz.

Game FIC Scores
Mehmet Okur, UTA - 17.3
Tracy McGrady, HOU - 16.5
Carl Landry, HOU - 13.1
Carlos Boozer, UTA - 12.0

After keeping their hopes alive with a win in Game Three, the Houston Rockets are confident heading into Game Four against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

"I think we got better -- the overall execution," said coach Rick Adelman. "... But we know we're going to have to be better [Saturday] because we know they are going to come out with a lot of energy. It's really important we maintain our mental discipline and not allow them to get up on us."

"We defended them well," added Adelman. "We made mistakes and stuff but, because of our activity, we were able to make up for it. I thought we were better offensively, too. We had better movement. We had more variety on what we were trying to do."

The Rockets' Tracy McGrady snapped out of his fourth-quarter series slump and scored seven of his 27 points, leading Houston to a 94-92 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night that gave the Rockets new life in the playoffs, as reported by the Associated Press.

Mocking those who blame him for not being able to get any team he has played on past the first round of the playoffs, Rockets' guard Tracy McGrady was vocal and sarcastic on Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle is reporting.

"It's my fault," McGrady said. "It's my fault we missed free throws. It's my fault we lost both games. Blame me. It's my fault we fouled to tie the game up. That's my fault. It's my fault they get easy layups. It's my fault we're not executing well on the offensive end. It's my fault a couple people in the stands ordered Heinekens and they got Budweiser. It's my fault. I'm sorry."

Told the beer reference might have revealed his straight-faced sarcasm, McGrady rolled on.

"I am serious," he said. "It's my fault. Everything is my fault. It's my fault. It's T-Mac's fault.

"Everybody's blaming me. The Suns (for being down 2-0 to the Spurs). I mean, everybody. That's what it seems like. It's my fault. I'm out there by myself."

The Rockets could get point guard Rafer Alston back for Game Three against the Jazz on Thursday, according to the Houston Chronicle.

A strained hamstring has kept the guard out, leaving the Rockets without a big offensive punch alongside Tracy McGrady.

"I'm pushing hard," Alston said of his rehab work. "I'm closer than I was two days ago. I'm doing things that I would have to do ? slash, cut, being able to slide. Right now I'm pushing for Game 3."

"We fought hard together in the regular season to get to this point, so to have to sit out and watch the team drop a couple of games, it hurts," Alston said. "I'd rather sit out and watch our team win."

Game Three is in Salt Lake City on Thursday where the Rockets look to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole.

Despite Tracy McGrady's game-high 23 points, he came up empty in the fourth quarter on Monday night as the Jazz beat the Rockets 90-84 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven opening round series, as reported by the Associated Press.

Deron Williams finished with 22 points and Mehmet Okur added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Jazz, who have won eight of the last 10 meetings with the Rockets.

Game 3 is set for Thursday night in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz recorded a 37-4 record during the regular season.

If the Sonics move to Oklahoma City, they will remain in the Northwest division even though geologically Oklahoma City is closer to the teams in the Southwest division, Darnell Mayberry from NewsOK.com is reporting.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has said too many teams in the Texas and Oklahoma region is bad for the league.

"There's not enough TV weight,? Cuban said earlier this month before the Sonics played the Mavs in Dallas. "There's not enough demand from a TV perspective from outside that little area. It's nice, but when you've got San Antonio versus Dallas, which you'd think is a great marquee matchup, no one outside our area (cares). That's bad. You don't expand the market at all.?