They probably wouldn't believe it.

For the first time in since returning from a 44-game absence following surgery, Boozer flashed his All-Star form against the unsuspecting Rockets.

The Jazz's veteran power forward finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds in 34 minutes --- 14 more than his post-injury average -- during Utah's 101-94 win at EnergySolutions Arena.

"He played great -- back to his normal self," said teammate Deron Williams. "... It was great to see him finish the game like that."

Memo Okur agreed: "He seems to be getting better -- almost 100 percent."

"Not yet," said Boozer. "I can't jump like I want to. But I'm going to keep working on it."

Asked if having two days between games helped his recovery, Boozer shook his head.

"What days off?" he said. "I'm always in the gym -- every day -- trying to get better. So are a lot of these other guys. ? No days off around here."

In his first four games back, Boozer totaled 30 points and 23 rebounds. He almost equalled those numbers against Houston.

"Boozer played great tonight," Rocket coach Rick Adelman said. "He made a lot of open jumpers."

According to Boozer, that was his plan -- at least after he had a little talk with himself after a six-point first half, when he missed five of seven shots, mostly against Yao Ming.

"At halftime, I reminded myself that Yao was backing off me," Boozer said. "I told myself, 'If he keeps backing off, shoot it.' I know can make midrange jumpers and that's what happened. He backed off, the shots were there and I did my best to knock them down."

Boozer opened the second half with back-to-back 17-footers. Later in the third quarter, he beat Yao down the floor for a dunk. Then, he buried jumper to give Utah a 62-54 lead.

"It's nice to see Boozer back, seeing him play well," said coach Jerry Sloan.

Boozer saved his best for last.With 4:33 left, he buried another jumper to snap an 85-85 tie. Moments later, Ron Artest missed a three-pointer and he outfought three Rockets for the rebound.

Boozer quickly forwarded the ball to Williams, who engineered a fast break that ended with a Ronnie Brewer layup and a 91-87 lead.

Boozer followed up with a 17-footer to give Utah a six-point lead.

luhm@sltrib.com A closer look

Carlos Boozer's five games since returning from surgery: