If the Jazz wanted to play with pressure in this first-round playoff series against Houston, they're going to get their wish in Game 6 Friday. Either they close out the series at home or they return to Houston for Game 7 for the second consecutive spring.
The Jazz suffered through an uninspiring 95-69 loss to the Rockets in Tuesday's Game 5, falling behind by 17 points in the second quarter and giving up a 12-0 run as Houston went up by 22 in the third. It was the third-fewest points the Jazz have scored in their playoff history, after Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals against Chicago (54) and Game 3 of the 1998 Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio (64).
The Jazz had won four consecutive games at Toyota Center over Houston, dating to Game 7 of last year's first round, including Games 1 and 2 of this series.
"We knew it's not going to be easy to come in here and eliminate them after we just did it last year in their building," Deron Williams said. "We knew they were going to be ready. We didn't match their intensity, match their energy level, and got beat."
Having gone 35-8 at home this season, the Jazz could be weighed down by expectations that they must close out Houston. The Rockets are the only team to win twice at EnergySolutions Arena this season and could have a nothing-to-lose attitude.
"Nobody expected them to win right now," Andrei Kirilenko said. "They beat us by 20. Everybody already gave us a win. As I said, you need to earn it. We need to be way better."
ROCKETS 95, JAZZ 69: Tracy McGrady scored a series-high 29 points, including 18 in the second half, as the Rockets staved off elimination Tuesday with a Game 5 victory. The Rockets got another 26 points from their bench, including 18 in the second quarter.
Houston scored the first nine points on the second quarter on their way to building a 17-point lead. The Rockets pulled away while McGrady rested on the bench, thanks to a unit that included Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes, Luther Head and Bobby Jackson.
The Jazz shot 36.5 percent, committed 18 turnovers and went 13 of 23 from the foul line. Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Williams finished with 13 points and six assists.
