Houston Rockets Lose Game Four to Utah Jazz: So Close, Yet So Far

It wouldn’t hurt so much if it wasn’t within reach. When, just as your fingertips touch it, just when it’s millimeters away from your grasp, it slips away. 

So the Rockets will go home down 3-1 to the Utah Jazz. 2-2 could have been fought for just a little longer, but the shaven pits of Mehmet Okur allowed him to pull down Deron Williams’ second missed free throw. And the fourth quarter comeback was killed at that point. 

3-1 is nothing like 3-0. 3-1 has been overcome before. But it’s done one game at a time. So as the Rockets return to Houston, they should have their sights set only on Tuesday. 

This game had its missed chances and opportunities, as have the other games. That appears to be the trend of this series. Houston comes close enough to smell the win, but mistakes cost them down the stretch.

I can’t even be upset. I saw the effort and it’s really all that you can ask for. You realize after a while that some shots fall and others don’t and sometimes the ball just bounces the other way. But effort can be the equalizer. It was Thursday night, but tonight it was not meant to be. 

When this series is over, if the Rockets are on the wrong side of the hyphen, we’ll be able to look back and point out the plays that ultimately made the difference. We will be able to say that the wins were so close that we could have reached out and grabbed them. 

So close, yet so far.

[image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixthstation/]