By Paul Levine Nov 3, 2009, 7:02 GMT
Los Angeles - As a rookie, Chase Budinger heard how hard it was for the Houston Rockets to beat the Jazz in Utah, but it didn't seem to faze him.
Aaron Brooks scored 19 points and Budinger had a career-high 17 off the bench to lead eight players in double figures, as the Rockets used a dominant fourth quarter to beat the Jazz, 113-96 on Monday night.
Losers in 21 of their previous 24 decisions at Utah, and missing injured Chinese superstar Yao Ming along with Tracy McGrady, it appeared the short-handed Rockets would suffer another loss.
However, the scrappy Texans outscored the Jazz, 34-20 over the final 12 minutes to post their first win at Energy Solutions Arena since Nov. 1, 2007.
'All I've heard of is how tough it is to win here, how every game is going to be close,' Budinger said. 'But talking after the game, people are amazed how bad we beat them, because it hasn't happened here.'
Trevor Ariza had 15 points, Argentine Spaniard Luis Scola contributed 14 with 15 rebounds, and Shane Battier finished with 13 points for the surprising Rockets (3-1) who rolled to their third consecutive victory.
'We played a pretty complete game,' Scola said. 'We played hard when we had to; we played smart when we had to and we made it tough.
'They're a good team, it's a tough court, but if you stay focused, stay ready and know the game plan, we have much more chance of being successful.'
Asked how the Rockets are finding early season success without Yao and McGrady, Scola replied, 'We're playing the right way for the type of players we have,'
The contest was knotted at 80 early in the fourth quarter before the Rockets took control. Budinger banked in a jumper and followed with a three-pointer to trigger a 7-0 surge.
The Rockets led 89-84 when Budinger nailed another three and a layup around a basket by Kyle Lowry (10 points) to fuel a 13-0 run. Battier and Lowery followed with treys to cap the 22-4 rally, opening up a 102-84 cushion with five minutes remaining, as the Jazz faithful booed its hometown heroes off the court.
Turkey's Mehmet Okur topped Utah (1-2) with 21 points, Ronnie Brewer had 19 while Deron Williams and Russian Andrei Kirilenko added 18 apiece.
'If you're not going to defend, it's pretty tough to have a chance to win,' Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. 'They got on top of the basket, they drove around us, they went up to the ball on the boards and they passed the ball.'
Elsewhere: Sacramento Kings 127, Memphis Grizzlies 116 (OT) Kevin Martin exploded for 48 points, including his career-high tying seventh three-pointer with 1:45 left in overtime, shooting the Kings to their first victory of the season in their home-opener.
Spencer Hawes had 21 points with 11 rebounds, and Slovenian Beno Udrih added 16, including a driving layup with 1.6 seconds in regulation to force the extra session, eventually giving Paul Westphal his first Kings coaching victory.
Zach Randolph had 30 points and 16 rebounds for Memphis, which dropped to 2-26 all-time in Arco Arena. O.J. Mayo scored 22 points, while Rudy Gay added 21 with 12 rebounds.
Allen Iverson netted 11 points in his Grizzlies debut, after sitting out the first three games due to a partial right hamstring tear.
Charlotte Bobcats 79, New Jersey Nets 68: Gerald Wallace collected 24 points with a career-best 20 rebounds, and the Bobcats went on a game-breaking 24-0 run, bridging the third and fourth quarters to keep the Nets winless.
D.J. Augustin added 21 points for Charlotte, which held its visitors without a field goal for nearly 11.5 minutes and forced nine turnovers.
Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 20 points, Brook Lopez added 18 for New Jersey (0-4) which lost China's Yi Jianlian to a right knee sprain.
New York Knicks 117, New Orleans Hornets 111 David Lee scored 28 points, Al Harrington added 13 of his 24 in the decisive fourth quarter, carrying the host Knicks to their first victory of the season.
Larry Hughes had 20 points for New York, (1-3), which had lost all three games in the road.
Chris Paul led New Orleans (1-3) with season-highs of 32 points and 13 assists. Emeka Okafor added 24 points and 10 rebounds.
LA Clippers, 93, Minnesota Timberwolves 90 Chris Kaman had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Rasual Butler sank four free throws in the final 19 seconds of overtime, and the Clippers (1-4) held off the Timberwolves for their first win of the season.
Al Jefferson scored 24 points for visiting Minnesota (1-3), which had won the previous three meetings.
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