Tuesday April 22, 2008 5:08 PM


Rockets seek series turnaround away from home


Houston at Utah, Game 3, Thursday, 9:30 p.m.



Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer


HOUSTON -- During their improbable run into the Western Conference playoffs, the Rockets became convinced that they could win in any building in the NBA.

The Rockets developed that mentality by winning everywhere from Hollywood to Phoenix to New Orleans, finishing the season as one of the league's best road teams.

"We've been winning on the road all year," Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks said. "We're confident that we can play well on the road."

Brooks and Co. will have to do it again if their season is going to last much longer.

The Rockets will have two chances to extend their first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz, beginning with Thursday night's Game 3 in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz have a commanding 2-0 lead in the series and are returning home to a building that has been the Temple of Doom for most of their visitors. Utah was an NBA-best 37-4 at home during the regular season.

The Rockets need to win at least one of the next two games to shift the series back to Houston for Game 5. But more importantly, the Rockets have to beat the Jazz at least twice in Salt Lake City to have a shot at winning the series.

Despite facing those long odds, the Rockets don't believe winning in Utah is an impossible task.

"We were a good road team during the year," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "We won at a lot of places. There are physical things that we have to do, but mentally, you have to get your mind stripped of what happened and you got to get yourself positive for the next game. There is no reason why we can't win there."

The Rockets haven't exactly enjoyed many triumphs of late in Salt Lake City.

Houston has lost seven of its last eight games in Utah over the past three seasons. That stretch includes three consecutive losses at EnergySolutions Arena during last season's playoff run.

Why is Utah such a difficult place to play?

"It's a very hostile environment," Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said. "There are some disrespectful things coming (out of the mounts of Utah's fans). But we know we can play there."

The good news is that the Rockets were one of only four teams to leave Utah this season with a win. Houston beat the Jazz way back on Nov. 1 when McGrady scored a season-high 47 points.

Though much has happened over the course of the season since that win, the Rockets believe they can draw some confidence from that victory.

With that in mind, the Jazz are well aware that they can't relax with the Rockets coming into their building.

"We can't just be happy that we're up 2-0 because they've beat us in our arena," Utah point guard Deron Williams said. "They're going to be ready and they're going to be fighting for their life."

The Rockets have plenty to fix before the series resumes in Salt Lake City.

Through the first two games of the series, the Rockets have struggled to generate much offense when the Jazz have doubled McGrady in the second half. The Rockets star scored one point in the final 20 minutes of Monday's setback.

Along with that issue, the Rockets have struggled from the free-throw line. Houston is shooting 67.5 percent from the stripe in the series, missing at least 10 free throws in each of the first two games.

But even with everything that hasn't gone right in the series, the Rockets are confident that they can turn things around.

Even on the road.

"We have to come out and show the resiliant spirit that we've shown time and time again this year," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "It's good to know that we have come back from dark times this season to play well."