05 March,2009 11:18 AM IST | | AFP
Deron Williams scored 26 points and added 14 assists to lead the Utah past Houston 101-94 yesterday, giving the Jazz their ninth win in a row and 12th victory in 13 games.
Carlos Boozer contributed 20 points and 17 rebounds for the National Basketball Association's hottest team, which improved to 38-23 to tighten a three-team fight for the Northwest division lead with Denver and Portland.
The Jazz, who have ousted Houston from the first round of the playoffs in each of the past two years, had lost both prior meetings this season with the Rockets, but Utah had put injuries behind them while the Rockets were without playmaker Tracy McGrady, lost for the season to microfracture knee surgery.
The Rockets, who remained just ahead of the Jazz in the Western Conference playoff fight at 39-23, were led by Ron Artest's 25 points plus 19 points and seven rebounds for Chinese star center Yao Ming,
Ming and Utah's Turkish centre Mehmet Okur both fouled out in the fourth quarter of a physical matchup.
