Steve Francis scored 24 of his 33 points in the second half and Moochie Norris scored five of his seven points in a critical run late as the Houston Rockets posted a 104-97 triumph over the Jazz.
With the Olympics taking place in Salt Lake City beginning later this week, the Jazz kicked off the longest road trip in franchise history Monday. Utah will play its next nine games away from the Delta Center and although they will have the opportunity to return home during the All-Star break -- the next 17 days should prove critical for a team that is no longer among the elite in the Western Conference.
 Steve Francis flies in for two of his 33 points against the Jazz. Bill Baptist NBAE/Getty Images |
"I was sick but I was just trying to save enough energy so I could have it down the stretch," Norris said. "It was good to have that energy late, because that's when I want to be out there. I need to be ready to hit the big shot and it felt good to come through again."
Francis was 18-of-22 from the free-throw line while Cuttino Mobley added 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting.
"We had a great game from Cuttino and Steve," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "We moved the ball around good and shot the ball great. It was a great experience to see this kind of game. It was good to see them battle hard against this kind of team."
"They both had terrific games," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "Mobley was 9-for-9 in the first half. Francis is a terrific player, but he shot a couple of free throws even when he didn't get fouled."
Karl Malone had 31 points and John Stockton added 14 and 12 assists for Utah, which had won 16 of the previous 18 meetings in the series.
Utah trailed 86-81 with 7:24 left when Stockton fed Malone for a layup. The duo hooked up again 33 seconds later to slice the deficit to a point but a 15-footer by Mobley extended Houston's advantage to 88-85.
Stockton countered with a 16-footer and, after Francis made a free throw, found Malone for a three-point play that gave the Jazz a 90-89 lead.
After the 7-0 run put Houston in control, Malone hit a short hook shot with 2:09 left to get Utah within 96-92. But Francis, Mobley and Morris hit two free throws apiece over the next 90 seconds to seal the victory.
Francis and Malone had 11 points apiece in the fourth quarter.
Mobley was the dominant player in the first quarter, making all five of his shots as Houton led 32-21 after 12 minutes. Mobley remained hot in the second quarter, going 4-for-4 from the field and leading the Rockets to a 55-45 edge at the half.
"We didn't come out with intensity and concentration," Stockton said. "We're a young team that is growing and we can't afford to be off."
Utah made just 1-of-11 3-point attempts in the contest and missed six of 16 free-throw attempts. But the Jazz committed just six turnovers.
The Rockets committed 17 turnovers but made 33-of-54 shots from the field, including 7-of-12 3-point attempts.
Francis' free throws attempted and made were a career high.