NBA PLAYOFFS / WESTERN CONFERENCE : Rockets Breathing Easier After 107-96 Victory

The Houston Rockets were being called chokers when they left home after blowing two big leads. But two games later, no one is calling them that.

“They are not chokers, they are men, and what they have done is just amazing,” Houston Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Sunday after the Rockets won their second consecutive game at Phoenix, 107-96.

Hakeem Olajuwon and Otis Thorpe dominated inside, and the Suns’ Charles Barkley was held to 19 points, more than 11 under his playoff average of 30.8.

With Houston leading only 91-85 late in the game, Olajuwon blocked Barkley’s attempted dunk, and the Rockets pulled away.

By leaving Phoenix with the series tied 2-2, the Rockets regained the home-court edge in this best-of-seven set.

Game 5 is Tuesday night at The Summit, where Houston lost the first two games.

“The media jumps to conclusions and screams ‘Choke City,’ but we lost two games before that we felt we should have won, and we came into these games knowing we could beat these guys,” said Olajuwon, who had 28 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.

The Rockets have outscored the Suns for seven quarters in a row, starting with the last three of a 118-102 victory Friday night.

In Game 4 Sunday, Houston was ahead 25-20 after one quarter, 52-46 after two and 73-66 after three.

Kenny Smith scored 21 points for the Rockets, and Mario Elie got 11 of his 14 in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Johnson had his second consecutive 38-point, 12-assist game for the Suns, but Barkley was the only other Phoenix player in double figures.

“In this business, you go from the penthouse to the outhouse pretty quickly, and I guess you could say I’m definitely in the outhouse,” said Barkley, who made only seven of 21 shots but had 14 rebounds.

Denver 83, Utah 82--Reggie Williams made a 22-footer with 1.9 seconds left at Denver, rallying the Nuggets and keeping the Jazz from advancing to the Western Conference final.

Utah will take a 3-1 lead into Game 5 on Tuesday night at Salt Lake City. Game 6, if necessary, would be Thursday at Denver.

The Nuggets, avoiding the first four-game sweep in their playoff history and preventing Utah from recording its first four-game sweep, got a strong fourth-quarter effort from LaPhonso Ellis, who scored 10 of his 17 points in the period.

Williams, who finished with 21 points, had two three-pointers in the final quarter, the last with 2:47 left to give Denver a 78-75 lead.

Denver center Dikembe Mutombo blocked three shots in the first three minutes of the game and finished with six blocks. As a team, the Nuggets had 14 blocks.