Utah Jazz: Rested McGrady rocks

"We didn't do a very good job on Tracy," added Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko, Utah's primary late-game defender on McGrady. "He didn't dominate, but he had a good game and got everybody involved."

So maybe there is more to it than simple rest.

And McGrady himself hinted at what it may be.

"I was just mixing my game up — dribble pull-up, going to the basket," he said. "I kept them off balance a little better."

All of which arguably has the Jazz tilting toward trouble as momentum in the series shifts.

"He got on a roll," Jazz shooting guard Kyle Korver said of McGrady, who had scored 23 or fewer in three of the series' first four games — and shot just 11-for-26 while scoring 27 in Game 3.

"The nights before, we played him pretty physical," Korver added. "We ran a lot of different guys at him, and he wasn't able to get on a roll. If a guy like him gets on a roll, he scores like that."

And he can rest, even if just for a couple nights, with peace of mind.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com