There's no such thing as real joy in a home victory at this time of year, only relief. The Jazz's 99-86 win over Houston could be described as nothing other than mandatory, far more of a requirement than an achievement.

It did take some work to fight off the Rockets, even as Houston was shooting only 35 percent from the field -- thanks in part to the Jazz's blocking a season-high 12 shots. The Jazz finally seized control with an 11-0 run after Houston cut the lead to four points in the last five minutes.

Much like a home playoff game, this was not an optional exercise for the Jazz. They absolutely had to win, considering the nature of the standings and everything that awaits them on the road in these last three weeks of the regular season -- beginning tonight at Phoenix.

"For us, we have to win home games," the Jazz's Ronnie Brewer said. "The race is so close, as y'all know. ... We've got to take care of these home games, because so far, we haven't been as good on the road."

Fortunately, as Kyle Korver said, the Jazz "just have confidence at home."

It showed again Tuesday, when the Rockets trimmed an 11-point lead to four, only to have the Jazz respond decisively.

Mehmet Okur's one-legged floater in the lane and Andrei Kirilenko's flat-footed 21-footer stabilized the Jazz, in another case of avoiding a critical loss.

If the playoffs started today, the No. 6-seeded Jazz would face the No. 3 Rockets, reprising their first-round meetings of the past two seasons. But I would not suggest getting too attached to the daily standings, considering the volatile state of things in the Western Conference.

At the moment, the Jazz are equidistant - two games - from No. 2 (San Antonio) and No. 8 (Dallas) in the West, meaning just about anything could happen between now and April 14.

The Rockets made their first two shots and last five shots of the first half. In between, they were 9-for-38, which left the Jazz believing they should have led by a lot more than 46-43 at the break.

This is pretty much what Jazz games will look like the rest of the way, though. Only the Los Angeles Lakers can feel especially good about their chances of securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, while everybody else is fighting for a top-four position.

In a sense, the competitive balance is such that seeding is not all that critical -- except that opening the playoffs at home is always nice, disregarding the fact the Jazz beat Houston without the home-court edge each of the past two years.

It simply would be asking too much of the Jazz to do that again this season, even if their opponent happens to be Houston in a remarkable repeat pairing.

The Rockets came to town with a 16-4 record since guard Tracy McGrady's season ended as a result of knee surgery. One of those losses came at EnergySolutions Arena in early March, when Houston was worn down after playing at home the previous night.

The playing conditions were more even Tuesday, and the teams failed to separate themselves until the stretch run. Get used to it.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com