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Friday April 25, 2008 1:43 AM


Landry's late block lifts Rockets over Jazz


Game 3: Houston 94, Utah 92

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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Before the final horn sounded on Thursday night, Carl Landry received a kiss on the cheek from Rafer Alston.

Landry deserved a little love after saving the Rockets.

Behind a game-saving rejection from Landry in the waning moments, the Rockets survived a furious comeback from the Utah Jazz and grabbed a thrilling 94-92 victory in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series at EnergySolutions Arena.

The Rockets' rookie power forward swatted away a potential game-winning drive by Utah's Deron Williams with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation, ending Utah's chances of finishing the series in four games.

The Jazz still have a 2-1 lead in the series heading into Game 4 on Saturday night, but the Rockets ensured that the series will shift back to Houston for at least Game 5.

For that, the Rockets can thank Landry. The rookie had seven points and 11 rebounds despite having a temporary tooth knocked out of his mouth in the first half. But even with those numbers, the biggest digit on his stat column was his single blocked shot.

That's what earned him a smooch from Alston.

"Landry saved the game for us or we might be down 3-0," Alston said of the kiss. "(The kiss) is just, you know, something to do when there is nothing to do."

Alston and Co. certainly needed Landry's rejection.

The Rockets watched a seven-point lead vanish over over the final two minutes of the fourth quarter after Kyle Korver and Mehmet Okur swished back-to-back three-pointers.

With his team clinging to a 93-92 advantage, Tracy McGrady missed badly on a jumper with 17 seconds remaining. The Jazz collected the rebound and Williams rushed the ball up the floor. After failing to find any of his teammates open, Williams drove down the left side of the lane.

That's where Landry met him, nipping a piece of the ball. Luis Scola came away with the loose ball and sank one of two free throws at the other end to secure Houston's win.

"It's obvious that this is a terrific win for us," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "Guys played hard. Guys just really did what we asked them. They just controlled the tempo. A couple times, I thought we got too caught up in the moment. We wanted to stay consistent mentally, be patient, and keep playing. Utah made great runs, Korver hit a tough shot and we made a big mistake on the pick-and-roll and gave Okur the three. Still, our last defensive possession was terrific."

The Rockets became the first team to win in Salt Lake City twice this season, handing the Jazz only their fifth home loss.

Houston got a significant boost on the offensive end with Alston back in the lineup. The Rockets' starting point guard missed the first two games of the series with a strained right hamstring, but returned for Game 3. He had 20 points and five assists in 35 minutes of action.

With Alston directing the offense, the Rockets shot 44.4 percent and had only nine turnovers. McGrady led the way with 27 points and seven assists.

Alston's presence even helped Houston go into halftime tied with the Jazz for the first time in the past 10 postseason games between the two teams. Utah had led in the other nine.

"Rafer was obviously a huge difference tonight," Adelman said. "To have him back and he made huge shots right off the bat. The thing he does is he controls the game so well for us."

The Rockets still need to get at least one more road win to have a chance of becoming only the fourth team to recover from an 0-2 deficit after losing the opening two games of a playoff series at home.

But with Thursday's win, the Rockets got themselves back in the series.

Landry made sure of it -- even if some thought giving the rookie a peck on the cheek was a bit much.

"Yeah, it was nasty," McGrady said. "I know he was on an emotional high, but that was nasty, Rafer."