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Rockets hope home court is enough to get them going again

Apr 30, 2007 - 3:08 PM Utah at Houston 8:00 pm EDT Western Conference First Round Series Tied 2-2

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- After taking a commanding 2-0 lead, the Houston Rockets fell flat on their faces in Games Three and Four.

The Rockets look to rebound from two straight embarrassing losses when they host the Utah Jazz on Monday in Game Five of their Western Conference first-round series.

Houston scored a franchise-playoff low 67 points in their Game Three loss on Thursday and suffered a 98-85 setback in Game Four two days later. The Jazz rallied their defense after the first two games, holding the Rockets to just 38 percent (53-of-140) shooting at home.

Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming will need some help from their teammates if they hope to regain some momentum. Houston had an NBA-record low four players score in Game Three and McGrady and Yao accounted for 45 percent of its points in Game Four.

"They're doing a great job of putting the pressure on us, taking us out of our comfort zone on the offensive end, extending us out on the post, making post entries tough," McGrady said. "They're playing harder than us."

Utah has been getting strong contributions from All-Star forward Carlos Boozer and point guard Deron Williams.

Boozer has had a double-double in every game of the series, averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds. Williams is pouring in 16.5 points and dishing out eight assists. Both players are playing in their first playoff series.

Game Six will be in Utah on Thursday.