On the surface, this was sheer torture for Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets.

McGrady was brilliant for three quarters Monday night. Despite lacking All-Star center Yao Ming and resurgent point guard Rafer Alston, they were right there with the Utah Jazz – seeking a split of the first two games on their home floor.

But as is always the case, the Jazz pounded the boards, stayed in their face on defense and tormented them with offensive execution. The result was a 90-84 victory to take a commanding 2-0 series lead back to Salt Lake City for the next two games.

McGrady finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, but had just 1 point in the fourth quarter and was clearly dead on his feet down the stretch. He got help in spurts from backup point guard Bobby Jackson and rookie Aaron Brooks. Actually, Jackson’s 3-pointer apparently tied the game in the final minute only to have it waved off on a contentious off-the-ball foul called on Luis Scola, with Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko accused of flopping.

And that was the end of that for the Rockets, who now have lost four consecutive playoff games to the Jazz dating to last spring.

Point guard Deron Williams led the Jazz with 22 points, while center Mehmet Okur added 16 points and 16 rebounds. Okur, Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer combined for 31 rebounds to lead the cause in a game so close there were 10 lead changes and 16 ties.

Despite McGrady’s efforts (16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in the first half), the Rockets couldn’t establish enough offensive punch to hang on to the lead even when they got it. Jackson finished with 18, Scola had 14 and Brooks added 11, but it was never enough. Even a pair of Shane Battier 3-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter merely served as a temporary tease for the Rockets.

In the end, there was little the Rockets could do and it’s only going to get worse now. The Jazz have been vulnerable on the road all year, finishing 17-24. But now the teams head back to Salt Lake, where Utah was an NBA-best 37-4 during the regular season. And with an exhausted and depleted Rockets team, this series looks over.

Sure, Williams has a badly bruised tailbone that took another serious jolt when Brooks flattened him on a screen, forcing him to hobble back to the locker room. Nonetheless, young backup Ronnie Price made big plays – including a clutch 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter – to keep the Jazz in order. And Williams was running the show down the stretch, doing whatever it took to keep the Rockets at bay.

The question now is whether the Rockets have anything left to extend this series beyond the next two games. They were losers in the conference finals to the eventual champion Spurs last spring, and the next two games will show how much the Jazz have matured.

If they complete the sweep, it will speak more of their execution – not of the battered Rockets – and they’ll meet the winner of the Lakers-Nuggets series. Meanwhile, the Rockets will just have to take it - drip, drip, drip …

Quotebook

Jazz guard Deron Williams on winning both games in Houston:

“It's great for us to come out the way we did and not settle for the one victory. We wanted to get both of them, get greedy. We've just got to go back now and take care of business.”

The stud

Cavs All-Star forward LeBron James just missed a triple-double in their 116-86 win over the Wizards to take a 2-0 lead in the series. James had 30 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. In the two games he’s averaging 31.0 points, 8.0 assists and 7.5 rebounds.

The dud

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, also known as Agent Zero or Mighty Mouth depending on your preference, had more turnovers than field goals. Making just 2-of-10 shots, Arenas had just 7 points, 3 assists, 4 fouls and 3 turnovers in just less than 24 minutes. In the first game he had 24 points.

Statbook

The Cavs now have beaten the Wizards in eight consecutive playoff games. … Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds in the two games. … Wizards All-Star Antawn Jamison went from 23 points and 19 rebounds in Game 1 to 9 points and 9 rebounds in Game 2. As a team they are 60-of-154 (.390) from the field and 9-of-40 (.225) from 3-point range. … McGrady is 16-of-43 from the field and 1-of-9 from 3-point range in the first two games. … Battier took seven shots in each of the first two games, making all seven in the first game to finish with 22 points, but hitting just three in Game 2 and totaling 7 points. … The Rockets are 10-of-41 (.244) from beyond the arc in the series and 34-of-55 (.618) from the free-throw line, while the Jazz are 12-of-27 (.444) from 3-point range and 27-of-40 (.675) from the stripe. Not coincidentally, Yao is their best free-throw shooter and Alston led the team in 3-pointers. Yao is out with a fractured foot, but Alston is a possibility for Game 3, battling a strained groin.

Tuesday

Now we’ll find out just how serious the Dallas Mavericks are about regaining their mojo and competing to win the Western Conference. After having fallen apart in the 2006 Finals, and getting upset by eighth-seeded Golden State in 2007, the Mavericks blew a 12-point lead at New Orleans Saturday and seem ill-equipped to come back from a 2-0 deficit.

Tonight in New Orleans, the Mavs must deal with their demons and gain a split.

Also, the Phoenix Suns will try to bounce back from their crushing double-overtime defeat at San Antonio, and the Toronto Raptors must figure out how to deal with the Orlando Magic’s monster in the middle, Dwight Howard.

Mavericks (0-1) at Hornets (1-0)

Chris Paul was brilliant in the 104-92 victory, with 35 points, 10 assists and 4 steals to lead the Hornets, who also dominated the interior thanks to the 10 points and 15 rebounds from Tyson Chandler. And after a sluggish start, forward David West had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Hornets. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 for the Mavs, but Josh Howard (4-of-16) and Jerry Stackhouse (2-of-9) were a combined 6-of-25 from the field and Jason Terry produced just 6 points.

Suns (0-1) at Spurs (1-0)

Clutch 3-pointers from Michael Finley and Tim Duncan forced the two overtime periods in the remarkable 117-115 victory in Game 1. Duncan had a game for the ages with 40 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Manu Ginobili added 24 points for the Spurs, including the game-winning basket on a drive to the glass, and Tony Parker added 26 points and 5 assists. Amare Stoudemire had 33 and 7 rebounds before fouling out for the Suns, with Steve Nash adding 25 points and 13 assists.

Raptors (0-1) at Magic (1-0)

The Magic hit 16-of-20 shots, including 9-of-11 from 3-point range to take a 43-23 lead in the first quarter and never were really challenged on the way to a 114-100 win. Most of the reason was Dwight Howard’s intimidating 25 points, 22 rebounds and 5 blocks. Jameer Nelson had 24 points and 7 assists for the Magic, with Hedo Turkoglu adding 21 points and 6 assists. Anthony Parker scored 24 for Toronto and Chris Bosh added 21.