Utah (18-13) eliminated Houston (19-11) in seven games in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, and in six games in the first round last spring.

The Jazz have seen their offensive output fall from 106.2 points per game last season to 99.7 in 2008-09, due in part to injury woes.

Carlos Boozer (strained left quadriceps), Paul Millsap (sprained left PCL) and Mehmet Okur (lower back spasms) - Utah's top three scorers and rebounders - all missed Friday's 97-88 win over Dallas, and will likely sit out this game as well.

Boozer averaged 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds in last season's playoff series against the Rockets, while Okur averaged 13.2 points and 12.7 boards. Millsap has come on strong for the Jazz this season, recording 15 double-doubles in 17 starts in place of Boozer.

Picking up some slack for the injured players, rookie Kosta Koufos scored a career-high 18 points and seldom-used Kyrylo Fesenko added a career-high eight points in Friday's win.

"Everybody who played minutes contributed somehow," said point guard Deron Williams, who had 17 points and 13 assists.

Williams, who missed 13 of Utah's first 15 games due to a sprained left ankle, averaged 17.3 points and 11.3 assists in three regular-season games against the Rockets last season and 20.8 points and 8.5 assists in the playoff series.

Yao faced the Jazz only once last season, when he missed the final 26 regular-season games and the playoffs with a broken left foot.

Now healthy, the center has been carrying the Rockets lately, averaging 23.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in his last six games. He finished with 19 points and 12 boards in Friday's 88-79 loss to New Orleans.

Yao shot 6 of 13 from the floor against the Hornets, but the rest of the team went only 20-for-59 (33.9 percent). The Rockets shot 2 of 14 in the fourth quarter failed to make a field goal in the final 8:47.

Asked what happened to the Rockets' offense, Tracy McGrady said, "I think we left it back in Houston."

McGrady had another poor night from the field, scoring 11 points while missing nine of his 11 shots from the field. McGrady, who missed seven games in late November and early December with a sore left knee, is averaging 9.0 points in his last three games.

"I'm not 100 percent," McGrady said. "I'm gutting it out. ... Some nights I feel like I could go 30 to 35 minutes, some night I feel like I can't do anything at all."

McGrady averaged 27.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in last season's playoffs after averaging 30.0 points in three regular-season games against the Jazz.

Houston forward Ron Artest sat out Friday for the fourth time in 10 games due to a sprained right ankle. He could be sidelined again Saturday

The Rockets have lost two straight games after winning a season-high four in a row. They are trying to avoid their first three-game skid since Dec. 15-20, 2007.