Jazz beat rockets 113-91

Jazz beat rockets 113-91

Deron Williams scored 13 of his 25 points in the decisive third quarter, as the Utah Jazz beat Houston 113-91 on Friday night. The Jazz won the series 4-2 and knocked the Rockets out of the playoffs in the opening round for the second straight year.

Utah locked-on with their long-range shooting and made 10 of 22 3-pointers. Utah shot 2-for-23 from beyond the arc in the previous two games. Andrei Kirilenko scored 11 points and Williams added nine assists for Utah. Kyle Korver had 10 points, Mehmet Okur had 19, and Carlos Boozer added 15 points and 10 boards for the Jazz. The Rockets cut a 17-point lead to 58-54 at halftime, but could get nothing going in the third quarter. They scored only 11 points while going 4-for-22 from the floor. Williams made back-to-back 3-pointers to put Utah up 77-59 and prompted Houston to call a timeout before it could get any worse. From there, the Jazz cruised to 113-91 win and a date with Los Angeles for game one of the second round on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks forced an improbable Game 7 of their NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics with a 103-100 victory. And, in Washington, LeBron James compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double, giving Cleveland Cavaliers a 105-88 victory over the Wizards and a place in the second round.