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.
McGrady, who has failed to advance to the second round of the playoffs in 7-of-7 appearances, finished with a game-high 40 points.
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.
McGrady went on a personal 9-0 run — a floater, two free throws, a driving layup and a 3-pointer — and scored 13 consecutive points for Houston as the Rockets whittled away at Utah's double-digit advantage.
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:...
Re;Maganus | May 4, 2008 at 6:12 p.m.
