Utah Jazz: Big improvement at free-throw line

It wasn't your standard reaction from a home crowd following a made free throw.

When Carlos Boozer made Utah's first foul-shot attempt less than six minutes into the Jazz's 86-82 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 4 of their first-round series on Saturday night, the 19,911 fans at EnergySolutions Arena erupted.

The roar sounded like there was some relief, some happiness, and maybe even a little sarcasm mixed in the response.

The mixed reaction was understandable following the Jazz's brutal performance at the free-throw line in Game 3 on Thursday. The fans were just as aware as the Jazz that their free-throw woes played a big role in their two-point Game 3 loss.

Utah could have lost Game 4 at the free-throw line, too, but made some key foul shots in the final seconds to take a 3-1 series lead over the Rockets.

Kyle Korver, a 92 percent free-throw shooter entering Saturday's game, made two foul shots with 12.5 seconds remaining to give the Jazz an 84-80 lead. Mehmet Okur, who rebounded the second of two misses at the line by Deron Williams, sank two free throws to put Utah ahead 86-82 with 5.5 seconds left.

As a team, the bottom line from Saturday night was that Utah was leaps and bounds better at the free-throw line in Game 4 than it was in Game 3.

The Jazz shot 77.4 percent from the free-throw line in Game 4, a marked improvement from the 60.6 percent they shot in Game 3. Utah was almost perfect from the free-throw line before halftime.

In the first half, the Jazz shot 14-for-16 from the free-throw line, while the Rockets were just 6-for-10. The eight-shot difference in made foul shots was telling, because Utah held a 46-38 lead at halftime.

The Jazz were obviously bothered by how poorly they shot from the line in Game 3. Boozer put in some extra work after he shot 3-for-8 in Game 3, as he arrived 90 minutes early for the team's practice on Friday. He took 100 free throws at practice, and made 83 of them.

Boozer explained at the team's shootaround on Saturday that free-throw shooting is about concentration and momentum, so there wasn't much the Jazz could go back and fix from Thursday.

"You get into a little bit of a rhythm. It seems to always be between the eyes," said Boozer. "Some people don't have good touch, but if you practice them ... if you work hard at it, you get better at it.'

As much of a hot topic as Utah's free-throw shooting in Game 3 was among the media and fans, the Jazz didn't dwell on it. They simply improved on it in the span of two days, and now just need one more win over the Rockets to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

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E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com