Jazz get first win of series
Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz held Houston without a field goal for 10 minutes in the second half and beat the visiting Rockets 81-67 on Thursday night in Game 3 of their playoff series.
Deron Williams added 11 points and eight assists, Matt Harpring had 13 points and rookie reserve Paul Millsap scored nine for the Jazz, who didn’t allow a point by the Rocket reserves.
Houston leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Saturday night, also at Salt Lake City.
Yao Ming had 26 points and 14 rebounds and Tracy McGrady scored 24 points for Houston. Shane Battier, who scored 11, and Rafter Alston’s six points were the only other scoring for Houston.
The Rockets won the first two games of the series at home, but they were sloppy on the road during the first playoff game in Utah since 2003. Houston had 19 turnovers to Utah’s 11 and was just 21 for 64 from the floor (32.8 percent).
Mehmet Okur had four blocks and four steals while smothering Yao on defense. Houston’s 7-foot-6 All-Star scored 14 points from the line and was flustered all night, even flailing a backhand at Okur in a scramble for a loose ball in the first half.
Lakers 95, Suns 89: At Los Angeles, after falling behind by 17 points in the first quarter and drawing boos from the home crowd, Los Angeles battled back and cut Phoenix’s lead to 2-1 in the first-round playoff series.
Kobe Bryant scored 15 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter, and had six rebounds and six assists. Kwame Brown added a career playoff-high 19 points and Lamar Odom had 18 points and 16 rebounds. Brown scored a total of 11 points in the first two games.
Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points, Steve Nash had 10 points and 13 assists and Shawn Marion also scored 10 points for Phoenix.
Pistons 93, Magic 77: At Orlando, Fla., Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and Chauncey Billups added 21 as Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The victory ended a postseason trend for the Pistons, who had lost their last six Game 3s when leading 2-0 – and left them one victory from advancing to the second round.
Grant Hill and Hedo Turkoglu, the two who carried Orlando in the first two games, struggled at home. They were a combined 6 of 22 from the field.