Johnson Repeats As Hero Rockets Win On Last-Second Shot, Knot Western Conference Finals

The weekend of Eddie Johnson is over, and the Houston Rockets came out of it with a renewed shot at an NBA championship.

Johnson was the hero for Houston once again Sunday, barely beating the final buzzer with a high-arching 3-point shot from 25 feet that gave the Rockets a dramatic 95-92 victory over the Utah Jazz to tie the Western Conference finals at two games apiece.

The 3-pointer was the only basket of the second half for Johnson, the hero of Game 3 when he came off the bench to score 31 points. Sunday’s game-winning shot left his fingertips with just 0.2 seconds left, and he high-stepped to the other end of the court and was mobbed by his teammates after it swished through.

“When it left my hand, it felt good,” Johnson said. “I had a great look at the basket and my form was right there. So I knew I had a chance, and maybe halfway through the shot I said: ‘That baby’s got a chance to go in.’ After that, it’s blurry.”

Johnson was 2 for 5 Sunday for seven points, a far cry from his 12 for 17 effort in Game 3.

“It’s amazing. It’s definitely the best situation I’ve been in and the biggest shot I’ve ever hit.”

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz have won 21 straight games. They’ll try to grab the momentum back from the Rockets, who are trying to come back from an 0-2 deficit for the third time in their history. The first two times they did it - 1994 and 1995 - they won NBA championships.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 27 points for Houston, while Charles Barkley had 20 points and 16 rebounds and Clyde Drexler scored 16 points.

John Stockton and Karl Malone scored 22 points apiece for Utah, but the similarities between their performances ended there. Stockton shot 9 for 12 from the field and had eight assists. Malone was just 10 for 28 and made several mistakes over the final few minutes.

Malone, after missing four of his first five shots of the fourth quarter and committing two turnovers on his two previous touches, hit a turnaround jumper over Barkley to tie the game at 92 with 1:08 left.

Utah center Greg Foster, who had been dominated all game by Olajuwon, then made his first good defensive play when he knocked the ball out of Olajuwon’s hands.

Utah recovered the loose ball and ran the shot clock down, but Stockton missed an open 16-foot jumper and Foster missed two tips. Malone grabbed the rebound and nearly threw it away again before the Jazz reset and swung the ball to the right corner for a 3-point attempt by Russell.

The shot was long, and Barkley rebounded with 6.7 seconds left.

Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said the final play was designed to go to Olajuwon, who had asked to take the shot in the timeout huddle proceeding the play.

Rockets 95, Jazz 92

Utah (92) - Russell 3-6 1-2 9, Malone 10-28 2-2 22, Ostertag 0-2 2-2 2, Hornacek 5-12 4-5 14, Stockton 9-12 4-5 22, Foster 1-6 2-2 4, Eisley 2-4 0-0 4, Carr 3-6 0-0 6, Anderson 2-7 4-4 8, Morris 0-0 1-3 1, Keefe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-83 20-25 92.

Houston (95) - Elie 5-10 0-0 11, Barkley 5-11 10-11 20, Olajuwon 9-18 9-12 27, Drexler 6-15 3-4 16, Maloney 3-8 0-0 8, Willis 2-3 0-0 4, Threatt 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 2-5 1-1 7. Totals 33-72 23-28 95.

Utah 27 26 23 16 - 92

Houston 24 24 27 20 - 95

3-Point goals-Utah 2-8 (Russell 2-5, Stockton 0-1, Foster 0-1, Anderson 0-1), Houston 6-19 (Johnson 2-3, Maloney 2-6, Drexler 1-4, Elie 1-5, Barkley 0-1). Fouled out-Elie. Rebounds-Utah 46 (Malone 10), Houston 51 (Barkley 16). Assists-Utah 25 (Stockton 8), Houston 20 (Maloney 6). Total fouls-Utah 23, Houston 22. Technicals-Utah coach Sloan, Olajuwon, Houston coach Tomjanovich, Houston illegal defense 2. A-16,285 (16,285).