Jazz holds off Rockets for a 3-1 lead in series

Deron Williams scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night and the Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets, 86-82, at Salt Lake City.

The Jazz lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1, with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday in Houston.

Mehmet Okur added 14 points and 18 rebounds, grabbing the biggest rebound when Williams missed the second of two free throws with 7.3 seconds left and Utah leading by two.

Houston cut a 16-point third quarter deficit to a point and made a great push at the end after Shane Battier and Rafer Alston made three-point baskets in the final minute to get the Rockets within two. Kyle Korver made two free throws for Utah to make it 84-80 with 12.5 seconds left, then after Carl Landry scored on a dunk, Williams had a chance to secure the victory for the Jazz.

He missed both free throws, but Okur was there for the offensive rebound and made two free throws with 5.5 seconds to play. It was too much for the Rockets to overcome and Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko added an exclamatory block as the buzzer sounded.

Tracy McGrady, who is 0-6 in playoff series, scored 23 points to lead the Rockets.

Atlanta 102, Boston 93 -- Josh Smith scored 27 points to lead the Hawks over the Celtics, cutting Boston’s lead in the opening-round series to 2-1.

Atlanta earned its first playoff win since May 16, 1999, a Game 5 clincher over the Detroit Pistons. The Hawks were swept by New York in the next round, then spent nine years trying to get back to the postseason.

After getting blown out twice in Boston, Smith and the Hawks seemed to take out all their frustrations on a 66-win Celtics team that finished 29 games ahead of eighth-seeded Atlanta during the regular season.

Kevin Garnett led Boston with 32 points, but the NBA’s youngest playoff team had him kneeling over, looking exhausted, by the end of the game.

Orlando 106, Toronto 94 -- Rashard Lewis had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Dwight Howard added 19 points and 16 boards and the Magic took a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series at Toronto.

Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, while Hedo Turkoglu had 18 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Magic.

Chris Bosh set a career playoff-high with 39 points and added 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who face elimination Monday night in Game 5 at Orlando, Fla. T.J. Ford had 12 points and 13 assists for the Raptors.