HOUSTON -- On the brink of a deficit that no NBA team has ever overcome, the Houston Rockets found new life thanks to 38-year-old Eddie Johnson.

Johnson, signed late in the season to add a veteran presence to the Rockets' bench, scored a season-high 31 points Friday night to lead Houston to a 118-100 victory over the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference finals.

It cut Houston's deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-7 series and kept the Rockets out of a 3-0 hole -- something no NBA team has ever climbed out of.

Hakeem Olajuwon added 27 points and the Rockets made 12 3-pointers to match their total from the first two games combined. Charles Barkley added 19 points and 16 rebounds and Clyde Drexler scored 15 points.

But the biggest reason why the Rockets are back in this series was Johnson, a journeyman waived by the Denver Nuggets in early March after a midseason trade from the Indiana Pacers.

Johnson, playing in his 15th season, signed with the Rockets -- his seventh NBA team -- and had a resurgence, scoring in double figures 13 times over the last seven weeks of the season. Friday, though, was his best moment of the season as he shot 12-for-17 and made several clutch shots in the fourth quarter when Utah was trying to mount a comeback.

His final basket on a layup with 1:19 left elicited the last of several chants of ``Ed-die, Ed-die'' from a sellout crowd at The Summit.

Johnson made five 3-pointers and his 31 points helped Houston to a 47-28 edge in bench scoring -- a category the Rockets had lost badly in each of the first two games.

Sedale Threatt came off the bench and made two 3-pointers for the Rockets and Drexler had three.

Karl Malone scored 21 points, John Stockton had 17 points and 10 assists and Greg Ostertag had 15 points for Utah, which lost for just the fourth time since March 1.

The reasons could be found in several categories -- all of which were won by Houston. The Rockets outrebounded Utah 38-30, reversing another trend from the first two games, and shot nearly 59 percent from the field after shooting 38 and 37 percent in Games 1 and 2.

Houston also outscored the Jazz in each of the final three quarters to recover from an early 14-point deficit.

The Rockets survived a strong start by the Jazz in which they hit six of their first seven shots for 12-4 lead that grew to 22-13 just over eight minutes in.

Malone gave Utah a 31-18 lead at the first-quarter buzzer by making a 3-point shot from two steps inside the halfcourt line. It was the first 3-pointer of the season -- including the playoffs -- for Malone, who entered the game 0-for-13 from behind the line.

Malone went to the bench for the first seven minutes of the second quarter, and Utah's offense struggled.

Threatt hit his first two 3-point attempts of the quarter, and Johnson had one in an 11-0 run that pulled Houston to 33-32. Stockton made four of Utah's next five shots as the Jazz built their lead back to seven, but the Rockets closed the half with a 7-0 run for a 51-51 tie at halftime.

The third period stayed tight until Olajuwon, Drexler and Mario Elie scored consecutive baskets to start a quarter-ending 15-6 run that left Houston ahead 80-72 entering the fourth.

Utah had one more run remaining, and a 7-0 spurt pulled the Jazz to 91-86 before the Rockets went to Olajuwon twice in a row for layups and Johnson then stole a bad kick-out pass by Stockton and went in for a fast-break layup that made it 97-88 with 5:03 left.

Notes: Every member of the Rockets who played shot at least 50 percent, except for Matt Maloney (1-for-6). ... Utah had only two fast break points ... Jeff Hornacek missed another technical foul shot, making him 1-for-5 in that category in this series. Hornacek shot 90 percent from the line during the regular season. ... The TNT broadcast was blacked out within a 35-mile radius of The Summit. It was available on a pay-per-view basis for $24.95 per household. ... Johnson's previous scoring high this season was 27 points.

Back to "Drive for the Title"