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McGrady, Rockets aim to overtake Jazz for fourth place

Apr 1, 2007 - 2:16 PM Utah (47-25) at Houston (47-26) 6:00 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) - Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets hope to enjoy the homecourt advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The Rockets can move into fourth place in the conference with a win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

Yao Ming collected 39 points and 11 rebounds and McGrady had 30 and 10 assists for Houston in a 107-104 overtime triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

The win helped the Rockets close within one-half game of the Jazz for fourth place and homecourt advantage in the first round.

Houston has won a season-high six consecutive meetings at the Toyota Center.

Utah had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 102-93 setback to San Antonio on Friday. Deron Williams led the Jazz with 23 points.

However, Utah has lost six straight road games.

"Some of these guys need to step it up if we want to snap out of this six-game losing streak on the road," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "We can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves."

The Rockets and Jazz split their two earlier meetings with each winning at home.