Ancient Reserve Sets Off Rockets Houston Cools Off Utah As Johnson Scores 31

Like some kind of ghost from seasons past, 38-year-old Eddie Johnson reappeared Friday night and kept the Houston Rockets from facing a frightening task.

Johnson came off the bench to score a season-high 31 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the Rockets to a 118-100 victory over the Utah Jazz.

It cut Houston’s deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-7 series and kept the Rockets out of a 3-0 hole - something no NBA team has escaped.

“It definitely was one of my biggest moments,” said the 15-year veteran, who was signed by Houston early in March after he was traded from Indiana to Denver and then waived. “You try to pick a moment when you can seize the opportunity, and I knew I had to make a difference.”

Such a difference - a scorer off the bench - was one of the many things the Rockets were lacking in the first two games of the series. Johnson was partly to blame, too, as he shot 3 for 9 with just seven points. The Jazz had even begun leaving him wide open on the perimeter.

“We can take his face off the milk carton now,” Houston’s Charles Barkley said. “Looking at some of the young guys in this league, I think Eddie can play until he’s 42. There’s always a place for guys who can shoot, especially on our team.”

Hakeem Olajuwon added 27 points and the Rockets made 12 3-pointers to match their total from the first two games combined. Barkley added 19 points and 16 rebounds and Clyde Drexler scored 15 points.

But the biggest reason why the Rockets are back in this series was Johnson, the only player in NBA history to score at least 18,000 points without ever having made an All-Star team.

The journeyman spent last season in Greece - “I’ve never felt pressure like I did playing in Europe,” he said - before coming back to the United States to play this season for the Pacers, his fifth NBA team.

“That was a mistake. I didn’t get a chance to play,” he said.

He had a resurgence after joining the Rockets, scoring in double figures 13 times over the last seven weeks of the season while several Rockets recovered from injuries.

Friday, though, was his best moment of the season as he shot 12-for-17 and made several clutch shots in the fourth quarter when Utah was mounting a comeback.

His final basket on a layup with 1:19 left elicited the last of several chants of “Ed-die, Ed-die” from a sellout crowd at The Summit.

Karl Malone scored 21 points, former Gonzaga University star John Stockton had 17 points and 10 assists and Greg Ostertag had 15 points for Utah, which lost for just the fourth time since March 1.

Game 4 is Sunday before the series returns to Salt Lake City for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Rockets 118, Jazz 100

Utah (100) - Russell 4-8 0-0 10, Malone 9-14 2-5 21, Ostertag 4-10 7-7 15, Hornacek 4-10 1-2 9, Stockton 8-19 1-1 17, Eisley 4-7 0-0 10, Anderson 2-5 0-0 5, Carr 2-3 2-2 6, Foster 2-6 3-3 7, Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Howard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-82 16-20 100.

Houston (118) - Elie 2-3 3-4 7, Barkley 6-11 6-6 19, Olajuwon 12-19 3-5 27, Drexler 5-9 2-2 15, Maloney 1-6 0-0 3, Threatt 2-4 0-0 6, Willis 4-6 2-3 10, Johnson 12-17 2-2 31. Totals 44-75 18-22 118.

Utah 31 20 21 28 - 100

Houston 18 33 29 38 - 118

3-Point goals-Utah 6-15, (Eisley 2-3, Russell 2-5, Malone 1-1, Anderson 1-2, Hornacek 0-1, Stockton 0-3), Houston 12-25, (Johnson 5-8, Drexler 3-6, Threatt 2-3, Barkley 1-2, Maloney 1-5, Elie 0-1). Fouled out-Ostertag. Rebounds- Utah 40 (Ostertag 9), Houston 42 (Barkley 16). Assists-Utah 23 (Stockton 10), Houston 28 (Drexler, Maloney, Threatt 6). Total fouls-Utah 23, Houston 22. Technicals-Russell, Carr, Utah illegal defense 4, Drexler, Houston illegal defense. Flagrant fouls-Willis. A-16,285 (16,285).