"Our team feels like we can win there," forward Matt Harpring said. "That's the good thing ... Now, we've got to go out and do it and prove that we can do it."

Who cares, the Jazz figure, that Utah has lost six of its last eight playoff games in Houston dating back to 1987?

"The series is not over," Williams said. "We've still got a chance to win.

"We've just got to find ways to win on the road, find ways to execute down the stretch," he added. "When they get up and get a little lead, we can't get deflated."

And Williams thinks he knows what it will take for that to indeed happen — or at least what it is the Jazz must avoid.

"The thing we haven't done there yet in Houston is execute down the stretch — make plays down the stretch," he said. "We've let them be the aggressor and make plays."

That's a reference to what happened in Game 5 at Houston — one the Jazz feel like they let get away.

After winning their three at home, though, coach Jerry Sloan's players really do have a confidence they did not possess for Games 1 and 2 in Houston.

"I think we have a good chance because we know that we played against them pretty good down there," guard Gordan Giricek said.

"I would say pressure on them right now," center Mehmet Okur added, "because they're gonna play in front of their fans, and I believe they think about if they lose what's gonna happen in front of their crowd."

That's one way to look at tonight.

Here's another, and it almost makes all the not-so-fun-filled facts seem like something worth forgetting:

"The bottom line," Sloan said, "is players have to step out there and do it. If you aren't good enough, we go home."

And true reality sets in.

Utah Jazz Game 7 history

• 1996: SEATTLE 90, UTAH 86 — After defeating Portland 3-2 in the first round and San Antonio 4-2 in the conference semifinals, the Jazz fell in Seattle.

• 1994: UTAH 91, DENVER 81 — The Jazz eliminated San Antonio in four games in Round 1, then held off the Nuggets in Game 7 at the Delta Center to advance. Houston defeated Utah in the conference finals, 4-1.

• 1988: L.A. LAKERS 109, UTAH 98 — Utah downed Portland 3-1 in the opening round before falling to the Lakers in Game 7 of the conference semifinals in Los Angeles.

NBA playoffs

Game 1: Rockets 84, Jazz 75

Game 2: Rockets 98, Jazz 90

Game 3: Jazz 81, Rockets 67

Game 4: Jazz 98, Rockets 85

Game 5: Rockets 96, Jazz 92

Game 6: Jazz 94, Rockets 82

Series tied 3-3

Game 7: Today, at Houston, 7:30 p.m. (TNT/KJZZ)

Friday's game

Nets 98, Raptors 97

New Jersey wins series 4-2

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com