SALT LAKE CITY — Deron Williams scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets 86-82 on Saturday night for a 3-1 series lead.
Mehmet Okur added 14 points and 18 rebounds, grabbing the biggest board of the game when Williams went 0-for-2 from the line with 7.3 seconds left and Utah only ahead by two.
The Rockets host Game 5 Tuesday and need a win to keep the series going.
Houston cut a 16-point third quarter deficit to a point and made a great push at the end after Shane Battier and Rafer Alston made 3-pointers in the final minute to get the Rockets back within two. Kyle Korver answered with two free throws for Utah to make it 84-80 with 12.5 seconds left, then after Carl Landry putback an offensive rebound, Williams had a chance to seal it for the Jazz.
He missed both attempts, but Okur was there for the offensive rebound and hit both free throws with 5.5 seconds to go. It was too much for the Rockets to overcome and Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko added an exclamatory block as the buzzer sounded and the Jazz left the court one win away from advancing.
Tracy McGrady, who is 0-6 in playoff series, scored 23 points to lead the Rockets. Only four came in the fourth quarter. McGrady was taunted with the chant “Over-Rated!” when he went to the foul line late in the game after another quiet fourth period.
Through four games, he has scored a total of 12 in the final quarter — and seven of those came in an 94-92 win in Game 3 that revived the Rockets’ hopes of going back to Houston with a possible 2-2 tie. Instead, it’s a 3-1 deficit to the Jazz, who won the first two games at the Toyota Center.
The Jazz were 0-for-14 on 3-pointers, but strong enough to make up for it inside. Carlos Boozer added 14 points and 14 rebounds, Kirilenko scored 11 and Ronnie Brewer had 12 points and two blocks as all five Utah starters scored in double figures.
After falling behind by 16 early in the third quarter, Houston rallied to get within five points at the end of the period and continued to push early in the fourth to almost completely erase Utah’s lead. Bobby Jackson and Landry hit two free throws each and Alston took a steal in all alone for a layup to cut the lead down to 68-67 with 10:39 left in the game.
Williams took control for Utah by driving for two layups to start an 8-0 run. Matt Harpring knocked the ball out of McGrady’s hands, Williams bounced a pass to Boozer in the lane for an easy basket, then Korver made a 19-footer that put Utah back ahead 76-67 with 6 minutes left.
McGrady didn’t score in the fourth until his layup over Boozer got Houston within 76-69 with 5:40 remaining. He had a chance to get the Rockets within two, but went 1-for-2 from the foul line twice.
McGrady also led Houston with eight assists and 10 rebounds, but the Rockets were outrebounded 48-41.
Notes: Jazz G Jason Hart missed the game with the stomach flu. … The Rockets closed the first quarter on a 12-3 run to take a 23-21 lead into the second. … After missing 13 free throws in Game 3, the Jazz improved Saturday by going 24-for-31 from the line. … Shane Battier scored 10 and Landry added 13 points for Houston.
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