Sports / Basketball |
Jazz keep pressure on Rockets with win over Mavericks(AP)Updated: 2007-04-14 19:22 The way the Utah Jazz have been playing, they weren't about to discount their 104-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night just because Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier sat out. "They still have (Dirk) Nowitzki," Matt Harpring said. "And Josh Howard. That's two All-Stars," Deron Williams said. Having lost five straight and six of seven, and with time running out on their chances of having home-court advantage for their first-round playoff series against the Rockets, the Jazz were thrilled with a win. "I don't care if it's 5-on-0, as long as we got a win," Derek Fisher said. "We understand and respect the fact Dallas had a couple of guys out. That doesn't take any feel-good away from us." Carlos Boozer had 32 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, then came away talking about how well Utah defended. He could've just as easily bragged about their rebounding: a 50-26 advantage, with no Mav grabbing more than four. "We have to try to use this for momentum the last three games," Boozer said. "We're not worried about Houston. If we only worry about ourselves, maybe we'll catch them." Utah hadn't won in Dallas since Dec. 20, 2002, losing seven straight, but this time caught the Mavericks on a night when their top priority was avoiding injuries. Dallas has clinched the best record in the NBA. |
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