NBA Rockets rip Jazz to stay alive while Hornets advance

Tracy McGrady scored 29 points to lead Houston past Utah in a must-win game Tuesday while the New Orleans Hornets advanced to round two of the National Basketball Association playoffs.

The Rockets routed Utah 95-69, trimming the Jazz lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series to three games to two while the Hornets defeated Dallas 99-94 to capture that opening-round matchup four games to one.

Houston jumped ahead 43-32 at half-time and stretched the edge to 74-53 after three quarters on the way to sustaining their hopes of advancing, forcing a sixth game Friday at Salt Lake City. A seventh game is here Sunday if needed.

The series winner will face the West top seed Los Angeles Lakers, who swept out Denver in the first round.

Luis Scola added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, while Rafer Alston scored 14 points and Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 10 rebounds.

Carlos Boozer led Utah with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

At New Orleans, Chris Paul scored 24 points, passed out 15 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first career playoff "Triple Double" to spark the New Orleans victory.

The Hornets advanced in the playoffs for the first time since the club moved from Charlotte and to the Western Conference.

"It feels great to know we are out of the first round," Paul said. "We showed a lot of poise at the end. We let them back in the game but we pulled it out. We're always going to fight.

"We stick together as a team. That's what makes this really special."

The second-seeded Hornets will have the home-court edge over their second-round foe, either defending champion San Antonio or Phoenix.

For the citizens of New Orleans, the success of the Hornets has captivated a city still dealing with rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"Everything we've done this year is all about this city and rebuilding this city," Paul said.

David West scored a game-high 25 points for New Orleans, which also had 10 points and 14 rebounds from Tyson Chandler and 17 points from Jannero Pargo.

German star Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Paul returned after a rest and ignited a 22-7 Hornets run to end the first half that gave New Orleans a 54-39 lead at half-time, but the Mavericks sliced the deficit to 71-63 after three quarters and 73-66 early in the fourth.

That's when the Hornets erupted for an 11-1 run for an 84-67 edge, but the Mavericks trimmed the deficit to 97-92 with 1:17 to go on a 3-pointer by Devean George, the ninth consecutive shot Dallas made from the floor in a late charge.

Brandon Bass rebounded a Nowitzki 3-point miss and sank two free throws with 33 seconds remaining to pull Dallas within 97-94.

Paul missed a fadeaway from the free throw line but the rebound was tapped back to him and led to Serbian star Peja Stojakovic sinking two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory for New Orleans.

The Mavericks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row, although being ousted this year as a seventh seed was less humbling than last year when they had the NBA's top regular-season record.

Dallas made a late-season trade for guard Jason Kidd but the All-Star addition to the Mavericks backcourt was not enough to provide a playoff spark.