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Rockets still gunning for first in West

Apr 14, 2008 - 2:57 PM Houston (54-26) at Utah (53-27) 9:00 pm EDT

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- The Houston Rockets try to keep alive their hopes of finishing first in the Western Conference on Monday when they visit the Utah Jazz in a preview of a possible first-round playoff matchup.

As the winner of the Northwest Division, Utah (53-27) is locked into the fourth seed while Houston (54-26) currently holds the No. 5 spot.

However, the Rockets are only 1 1/2 games behind the conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers (56-25). They remain in contention for the top spot in the West because they hold a tiebreaker edge over the Lakers.

Still, the Rockets missed a huge opportunity on Sunday, when they sleep-walked their way through a 111-94 loss in Denver that snapped a five-game winning streak.

Tracy McGrady was held to just 16 points on 5-for-18 shooting from the field. Overall, the Rockets' poor 35 percent (32-for-92).

Utah improved to an NBA-best 36-4 at home with a 124-97 rout of the Nuggets on Saturday. Four of Utah's starters scored at least 19 points as the Jazz shot 58 percent (50-for-87).

Houston also has a chance to win the Southwest Division. The Rockets are tied for second in the division with San Antonio (54-26), one game behind New Orleans (55-25)