TRACY MCGRADY LEFT STUNNED AFTER SECOND LOSS AT HOME April 22, 2008 - Kyle Korver made only one field goal on Monday night, but it was a big one. With 20.2 seconds left to play and his Jazz up just three, Korver hit an improbable one-handed floater to beat the shot-clock and seal the 90-84 victory for Utah. HOUSTON ROCKETS VS. UTAH JAZZ PLAYOFFS: GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS Deron Williams led the way for the Jazz with 22 points and Mehmet Okur added 16 points and 16 rebounds in the win. Rafer Alston sat out once again with a strained right hamstring, which forced Tracy McGrady to shoulder the load. 2008 PLAYOFFS HOUSTON ROCKETS ROUND 1: GAME 2: PHOTO GALLERY McGrady put on a wonderful performance, falling just shy of a triple-double; he finished with a game-high 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in the loss. HOUSTON ROCKETS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Rockets 82 Jazz 93 : Jazz Lead Series 1-0 Game 2 : Rockets 84 Jazz 90 : Jazz Lead Series 2-0 Game 3 : Thursday, April 24 : at Utah, 10:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 4 : Saturday, April 26 : at Utah, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) Game 5* : Tuesday, April 29 : at Houston, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Utah, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Houston, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - UTAH JAZZ Carrying a 2-0 series lead back to Utah, the Jazz have to feel good about their chances of advancing. The next two games will be played in Utah where the Jazz are an NBA-best 37-4 this season. Game 3 is set for Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT. - NBA.com   TRACY MCGRADY CAN'T PULL IT TOGETHER IN THE FOURTH April 19, 2008 - Andrei Kirilenko scored 21 points, Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 16 rebounds and the Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets 93-82 in the opener of their first-round series Saturday night. HOUSTON ROCKETS VS. UTAH JAZZ PLAYOFFS: GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS Deron Williams had 20 points and 10 assists as Utah, 17-24 on the road during the regular season, won its second straight playoff game in Houston. The last victory came in Game 7 last season, and that was when Houston got help from Yao Ming. 2008 PLAYOFFS HOUSTON ROCKETS ROUND 1: GAME 1: PHOTO GALLERY Yao is not around for this one. He's out for the series with a foot injury and the Rockets have to wonder after Game 1 how they're going to compete with the Jazz inside. Utah had a 34-29 rebounding edge through three quarters and Boozer hit 10 of 20 shots. HOUSTON ROCKETS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Rockets 82 Jazz 93 : Jazz Lead Series 1-0 Game 2 : Monday, April 21 : at Houston, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 3 : Thursday, April 24 : at Utah, 10:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 4 : Saturday, April 26 : at Utah, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) Game 5* : Tuesday, April 29 : at Houston, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Utah, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Houston, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - UTAH JAZZ Utah's reserves also played well, outscoring Houston's reserves 28-17. Shane Battier scored 22 and Tracy McGrady had 20 points for Houston, which shot 37 percent (29 of 79). The Rockets are also playing without starting point guard Rafer Alston, who strained his right hamstring late in the season. His backup, Bobby Jackson, scored seven points on 3-for-15 shooting. - ESPN.com   TRACY MCGRADY FACES UTAH JAZZ IN 2008 PLAYOFFS April 17, 2008 - A year ago, the Houston Rockets had homecourt advantage and a 3-2 series lead against an unproven, but up-and-coming Utah Jazz. But the Jazz won Game 6 at home, and then edged out the Rockets by four on the road in Game 7, extending Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming’s run of first-round exits. When Yao Ming went down for the season on Feb. 26 with a stress fracture in his left foot, Houston had won 12 in a row. Instead of giving in, McGrady and the Rockets went out that night and won. And then did so for the next nine games, logging the second-longest win streak in league history (22 games). But as the playoffs drew nigh and they went 3-5 post-streak, the rest of the West saw weakness, and wanted to take them on in Round One. But the Rockets rebounded to win five of their last seven, setting up a rematch with Utah; the run included a crucial last-night-of-the-regular-season victory against the Clippers that earned them homecourt advantage despite holding the lower seed. While McGrady and the Rockets will need to return to their unrelenting, efficient attack – on both sides of the ball – if they’re to push the Jazz to the brink for a second season, it’s likely to prove a tougher task this season. HOUSTON ROCKETS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Saturday, April 19 : at Houston, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) Game 2 : Monday, April 21 : at Houston, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 3 : Thursday, April 24 : at Utah, 10:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 4 : Saturday, April 26 : at Utah, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) Game 5* : Tuesday, April 29 : at Houston, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Utah, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Houston, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - UTAH JAZZ Deron Williams has continued to improve, and outplayed his draft-mate, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul – an MVP candidate – in all but one of their four head-to-head matchups this season; more importantly, the Jazz won three of them. Williams’ pick-and-roll partner, Carlos Boozer, chalked up a 20/10 (points and rebounds) for a second straight season. The job of guarding him will fall to NBA rookie Luis Scola, who finished third in NBA.com’s Rookie Rankings after a second-half surge that coincided with “The Streak.” If the Rockets contain Boozer, the responsibility will fall on the shoulders of midseason pickup Kyle Korver, whose Dec. 29 arrival sparked the 16-16 Jazz to reel off a 38-12 finish. Had they kicked off the season with that same that .760 winning percentage, the Jazz would be 62-game winners and the No. 1 seed in the West. As is, the Jazz find themselves facing a Rockets team that few expect to advance. But Houston thrived in the underdog role when Yao went down, and a similar “us-against-the-world” mentality could result in the upset. This series is going to be a battle, which will make for entertaining endings throughout. - NBA.com