Not everything went the Jazz's way Thursday night.

Starting small forward Donyell Marshall exited early with a bruised right hip, and is "questionable" for Saturday's game against Memphis. An accidental head butt cost Karl Malone three stitches to close a cut over his right eye. Utah's hot-of-late bench came up cold, perhaps bruising a few egos.

Really, though, the battered Jazz can't complain too much.

After all, they were big-time beneficiaries of Steve Francis' rather questionable ejection. Marshall's injury doesn't seem major; Malone returned quickly after getting sewn shut, seeing his way quite clearly to a game-high 30 points. And Utah managed a not-so-simple 83-79 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Delta Center, marking win No. 7 in its last eight games.
     
"It felt good to get a win," said Jazz reserve swingman Bryon Russell, who mustn't have felt too good about his 1-of-8 shooting, but couldn't have been happier with his fortuitous late-game defense. "Now we are on what you call a 'winning streak.'"