From Deseret News archives:
Utah Jazz: Knockout punch Jazz crush Rockets in 2nd half to earn playoff date with Lakers
So goes the transition for the Jazz, who dismissed McGrady and his Houston Rockets with a 113-91 victory in Friday night's Game 6 at EnergySolutions Arena and a 4-2 win of their first-round, best-of-seven NBA playoff series.
The reward for Utah, which now has ousted Houston from the opening round in two straight postseasons: A best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with Bryant and his No. 1-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
That series gets underway with an ABC-televised Game 1 scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Staples Center in L.A.
"We got a little taste of T-Mac in this series, and now we have another great scorer on the perimeter that we've got to worry about," said point guard Deron Williams, who carried the Jazz on Friday. "They've also got their low-post presence (in Pau Gasol), so it's going to be a little different for us."
"It's going to be a great series, man," All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer added. "I'm looking forward to it."
The Jazz can savor looking back as well.
But his one-man band was bested by the collective effort of the West's No. 4-seed Jazz, with Williams setting the tone and fellow starters Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko all backing him soundly.
Williams wound up with a team-high 25 points, including four 3-pointers during a decisive third quarter in which the Jazz who shot 46.6 percent from the field on the night pushed a four-point lead to 20.
"He got on a roll there and was able to shoot the ball," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Williams, who also dished nine assists. "He was very excited, and he was pretty animated about playing the game."
Williams, Sloan suggested, played with much the same sort of confidence he has all season long.
"I don't know where our team would be without him," Sloan added.
McGrady scored 28 points in the first half alone, helping Houston trim what had been a 19-point Jazz advantage to just one late in the second quarter.
That is a new Jazz opponent-player playoff high for points in a half, topping the 27 posted by fellow Rockets Hakeem Olajuwon (first half) and Clyde Drexler (second half) in the same May 5, 1995 game.
Drexler finished that first-round game with 41 points, and Olajuwon 40.
The Jazz were up by 19 twice in the second quarter, the last time when Williams drove for a layup that made it 46-27.
But then the Jazz offense briefly broke to pieces, and the Rockets got theirs together.
Recent comments
Boozer! PLEASE STEP UP YOUR GAME! Dunk the basketball dont lay it...
Anonymous | May 16, 2008 at 10:59 p.m.
You'll notice I wasn't emphasisizing the irrational, I was...
magnus | May 4, 2008 at 8:15 p.m.
From the Mirriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
Main Entry: 3fan...
Re;Maganus | May 4, 2008 at 6:12 p.m.
- Kirilenko will not play tonight 2:37 a.m.
- Dry spell dooms UVU 2:32 a.m.
- Griffins cruise by St. Thomas 2:32 a.m.
- WSU wins conference road opener 2:30 a.m.
- Oden hurt, done for season? 12:56 a.m.
- USU home-court streak ends 12:55 a.m.
- USU names field after Merlin Olsen 12:52 a.m.
- Utes stop Idaho State 12:51 a.m.
- Y., U. to learn bowl destinations 12:49 a.m.
- Utes' team staying well-tuned 12:48 a.m.
- Why is Y. ignoring spew of hatred?
309 - Letters: Liberal because LDS
247 - Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
195 - Hate not limited to 1 in-state rivalry
189 - Aggies shoot past Cougars
179 - N.Y. Senate rejects gay marriage
128 - Unbeaten BYU takes trip to Logan
105 - George lost in rivalry hatefest
104 - Harpring's NBA career is over
94 - Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
90
I got some e-mail from Aggie fans regarding a column I wrote last week...
We'll be watching the AGGIES in the NIT. At least BYU will BE in the NCAA....
You're right, the REFs don't care...they laugh when they leave the...
Las Vegas- Wyoming v USC Poinsettia- Air Force v Cal Armed Forces- Utah v....
Just another mental lapse. This is the NBA, this isn't a regular high school...
T-Buck, ESPN's box has CJ Miles shooting 3-for-10. Not a great deal of...
Tiger Woods used the media build up and sponsorship $$$ to attract...
Hey fellow Aggies, quit whining. We lost to the better team tonight. BYU...
I am glad the Cougars won this one too. What was the score with AZ...
More Maynor, 10 min. of Fes, we get the win. Since Jerry's extension, Fes...
Ivan--thank you buddy. It's always good to get the input of a BYU fine...


