"As (Game 2) got tight," Anthony said on the Web site, "I thought Williams played tentatively."

Anthony, incidentally, isn't writing the Jazz off just yet, either.

"As dismal as it looks from the Jazz perspective," the ESPN analyst said, "their home court is one of the most difficult places to play for an opponent. The energy the Jazz play with at home is completely different."

DIFFERING OPINIONS: The Jazz and Rockets had differing viewpoints on Houston's advantage over Utah — 38 attempts vs. 17 — from the free-throw line.

"The facts don't lie with free-throw shooting," said Harpring, offering a thought certainly open to interpretation. "It is what it is."

"I thought in the second half we ... took the ball to the basket aggressively, which led us to get us some free throws," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said.

K.I.S.R.: After Sunday practice prior to Game 2, Van Gundy said he wanted his Rockets to keep things "simple, simple, simple."

The message apparently made it through.

"We talked before the game," Rockets center Yao Ming said, "about if we're open, we shoot — and if we're not, then we drive or we pass."

Which is as about as simple as it gets.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com