By C. Jake Williams

April 25, 2008 | 8:30 - Welcome to the Jazz-Rockets game three diary. A few thoughts while we wait for tipoff:

Tuesday I predicted Toronto would win one game at home because Jose Calderon would take over and explode in an attempt to keep his starting job next season. Tonight Toronto beat Orlando by 14 in game three of that series. Calderon had 18 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists, and hit four from distance. Magic in five.

I also chose Washington in seven because Cleveland has no scorers except LeBron. Tonight the Cavs lost by 36 and only LeBron scored more than 10 points. Washington in seven.

I'm so happy Utah is in the Western Conference; it means we don't have to listen to Reggie Miller during TNT telecasts. On the other hand, I do miss thinking 'Good analysis, Reggie Miller' sarcastically to myself.

8:42 - Tipoff time, let's go Utah.

Has anyone else noticed that Dikembe Mutombo is physically more reliable than Yao Ming? And Mutombo is 41 years old! I think we need a three-fifths compromise on Chinese all-star voting. Who's with me?

Also, Mutombo has the sharpest elbows I've ever seen.

8:45 - Rafer Alston hits a trey to make it 5-2 Houston. You can't overstate how much Alston means to the Rockets. Not only does he produce while on the court, but it's addition by subtraction because he keeps Bobby Jackson's breakable ankles on the sidelines.

8:49 - Why does Andrei Kirilenko shoot from behind the arc? Shouldn't our center be taking those shots instead of our defensive specialist? (There's some bitter sarcasm behind that last question. I hate that the Jazz own a outside-shooting center. Although...)

During the Cavs game it was revealed that Zydrunas Ilgauskas began his career as a point guard. I guess that explains why 150 percent of his shots come from exactly 18 feet out. THAT is the worst possible place for a big man to shoot from. Step in or step out, big man. Up the percentage or up the reward, otherwise you'll score just nine points and lose by 36.

8:56 - Deron Williams goes to the line for his eighth and ninth points with the score 15-16. I get the feeling he could take over any game at any time as long as he has a reason to be pissed off. Both free throws are good. DWill 9, Houston 16.

8:58 - Add an asterisk to my 'Mutombo has the sharpest elbows I've ever seen' comment. Ronnie Brewer's right elbow is sharper than either of Mutombo's. The 41-year-old from Congo has the second and third sharpest elbows I've ever seen.

9:04 - I never expect a Carlos Boozer non-layup to go in. His shot looks half as weird as Shawn Marion's and that's not a compliment. 21-24 Rockets.

9:08 - The first quarter ends on a Boozer layup, right on queue. The score is 23-27 Rockets. Alston and Williams are controlling the scoreboard so far, with 11 and 12 points respectively. Alston has yet to miss a shot and Bobby Jackson hasn't attempted one.

9:13 - Jackson comes off the bench with two straight buckets. Can he hear what I write in real time? To my credit, Kyle Korver did make BJ look silly on the defensive end between the makes. It's 23-31 Houston.

9:16 - Houston's bench has to be among the best in the league. They're not flashy, but they bring tons on energy and protect the basket on D.

Manu Ginobili, and other starters who come off the bench, should be excluded from the Sixth Man Award voting so that guys like Carl Landry and Korver can get some recognition. Anytime a player gets votes for Sixth Man and MVP, something is wrong.

9:22 - A Korver-Williams screen switches BJ onto DWill, and Williams attempts a three pointer. ???

Go ahead and take that gimme layup.

9:24 - Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. Where is the weakness for Utah? They have a legitimate shot at a title this year.

My brother Shane is laughing while reading that last sentence. I voiced strong skepticism for the Korver trade, thinking the Jazz gave up too much to get a pure shooter. I had no problem with Larry H. Miller dealing Gordon Giricek, he needed to go, but losing a first-round pick too? I thought it was too much. Obviously it has worked for Utah so far, there's no arguing that point. Jazz fans just hope the good times continue to roll.

I will say this: With Korver on the floor, any lead in a close game is automatically a win. Korver is clutch from the line once opponents start playing catch-up basketball.

9:37 - Williams and Alston now have 19 and 13 points to make the score 36-40 Houston. Carl Landry has seven hustle (HUSTLE!) rebounds for the Rockets, but he Ran to the locker room with a lost tooth after getting hit by an inadvertent Boozer elbow.

Do I even have to make the obvious Mutombo joke on that one? I'll pass.

Williams scores again. 38-40.

9:44 - Matt Harpring hits one of two free throws to end the first half knotted at 44. This game has actually been as close as the score indicates.

10:05 - We learn from Craig Sager that the tooth Carlos Boozer knocked from Carl Landry's head was a bridge, a temporary fake. The REAL tooth was knocked out two weeks ago. BY MUTOMBO!!! You can't make this stuff up.

10:12 - Kirilenko hits a three, assisted by Williams, to give the Jazz a 56-55 lead. Williams had a dish to Brewer the play before for a beautiful acrobatic layup, and the next play Williams split the lane for his 22nd and 23rd points of the night. 58-55 Utah, timeout Houston as the momentum has clearly shifted in the Jazz's favor.

10:15 - Somehow the NBA Cares commercial for the Houston Rockets doesn't carry the usual punch. Maybe it's in the lead when they show Yao Ming and Mutombo reading to school kids. Can you think of three non-rappers you have to struggle to understand more than those two?

I can name only one: Gheorghe Muresan! (That reference is dedicated to my father. He'll understand.)

10:22 - This game is progressing at a pace more favorable to Houston than the hometeam, yet Utah is rolling 67-61 with 3 minutes left in the third quarter behind Williams' 25 points and 8 assists.

Utah averaged 106 ppg during the regular season, while Houston scored 96 ppg.

10:27 - Chuck Hayes picks up his fifth foul for Houston and is replaced by a slightly lighter Landry. I'm giddy to see him twitch if Mutombo enters the game.

If the NBA really Cared it would treat Mutombo's elbows the same way the WBO treats bare knuckles. For the love of Landry pad those things!

10:36 - Geico throws a Caveman dancing commercial our way before the fourth quarter kicks off. Utah leads 76-70 and I'm ready to finish strong.

McGrady's 20 points and 6 assists have been very quiet tonight. I'm blaming McGrady. So is McGrady. You can blame McGrady too! In case you didn't hear, TMac is taking the blame for everything that goes wrong with the Rockets from now on, including fans getting a Budweiser when they order a Heineken. Good times.

10:40 - Houston missed double-digit free throws in the first two games of this series. Tonight they decided the way to fix that was to not shoot free throws. Utah has attempted 27 from the stripe, Houston 11.

BUT there are ten minutes left in the game and Utah is already in the penalty for the final quarter. Shane Battier knocks down two shots, the score is 77-75 and Utah has reason to be worried. This is TMac's chance to take control of the game.

10:43 - TMac misses a layup and is now 0-3 from the field in the fourth. There goes that theory. 79-77 Utah but this game is far from decided.

10:48 - Why does the top of Shane Battier's head look like a prune?

10:50 - Houston ties the game at 81. Landry sends Williams to the line and is reprimanded by a 41-year-old with an attitude that you can't knock down with a hammer. Ok I made that last part up. Williams misses the first and we get our 21st car commercial of the game, although the previous 20 were all for BMWs. Williams' second FT falls, giving him 28 points.

10:55 - Boozer stretches the lead to three on a sweet Williams assist. 84-81 Utah with five minutes left. We're about three minutes (game clock) from Korver Time.

Is there a show on TV that I'm less excited for than the Bill Engvall Show? No.

10:57 - Boozer torches two FTs over the backboard, or at least that's where I thought they were going before ricocheting off the back of the rim for consecutive misses. Jazz by one and the crowd is not making playoff-level noise.

11:00 - McGrady hits 1-of-2 FTs, tying the game at 86, then 2-of-2 for the two-point lead.

For some reason I don't see kids in their front yards tomorrow dreaming of scoring 23 points The McGrady Way.

Diehard fans over the age of 55 scare the hell out of me. Yes, that means you "Not in Our House"-sign-holding fan on the TV right now.

11:05 - McGrady's first FGs of the fourth, consecutive jumpers, give Houston an 86-92 lead. Landry's FT adds another point to the margin. Ninety seconds left in the game.

11:07 - Korver Time! It's a three, 89-93 Houston.

Offensive foul McGrady, Jazz ball.

11:08 - Okur hits a three. Utah is unbelievable in the clutch since the Korver trade. They trail by just one point with 0:37 left. Timeouts won't be a factor; Houston has two, Utah three.

11:11 - Carl Landry blocks Deron Williams' layup with two seconds left.

11:13 - Luis Scola goes to the line with 0.2 seconds left, meaning he should miss the second shot to automatically end the game. Whoops, he misses the first and hits the second. Any other combinations of misses and makes would have ended the game, but Utah has a chance for a tip-in to tie.

11:15 - Mutombo picks off the inbounds, Houston wins 94-92.

Like I said all along: Jazz in five.

MS
MS