Now the Jazz could be poised to make a different kind of history, again involving the Rockets, returning from Houston with a 2-0 lead and eyeing their first four-game sweep since beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1998 Western Conference finals. If they can close out the series with victories Thursday and Saturday at EnergySolutions Arena, the Jazz could have the opportunity to kick back and watch as the remaining 50-win teams in the Western Conference battle it out in the first round.

Deron Williams cast his vote after Monday's game to make quick work of the Rockets and get rest for his bruised backside, but Jazz coach Jerry Sloan wasn't going to let his players get ahead of themselves.

"I don't think you worry about that,'' Sloan said. "You just worry about the next game. We haven't finished anything and that's the thing that players sometimes have a tendency to think they get home and everything's going to be easy."

After playing with Houston coach Rick Adelman in Chicago in the 1970s and coaching against him for years, Sloan added, "I know his teams are going to come out as hard as they can."

Should they advance, the Jazz would play the winner of the L.A. Lakers/Denver series, which won't end until Monday at the earliest. If last year's playoffs were any guide, the earliest the Jazz would open the conference semifinals would be May 3.

With the Jazz finishing an NBA-best 37-4 at home this season - winning 27 of their last 28 home games - the Rockets are likely facing even longer odds than history would suggest.

Only 13 teams have come back from 2-0 down to win a best-of-seven series, including the Jazz a year ago, and just three of those teams ever did so after losing the first two games at home.

The only teams ever to come home and blow a 2-0 lead? Golden State in 1969 (L.A. Lakers), Phoenix in 1994 (Houston) and the Tracy McGrady-led Rockets in 2005 against Dallas.

"We're playing pretty good at home," Andrei Kirilenko said, "but Houston, they don't have anything to lose right now. They will fight and series is not over yet, so we need to fight, we need to get two more wins."

Not only have they won eight of their last 10 games, the Jazz have successfully carried over the momentum built at the end of the regular season with victories over San Antonio, New Orleans, Denver and Houston.

They finished Monday's game on a 14-8 run and closed out all four quarters with a flourish. Ronnie Price had a three-pointer, steal and breakaway dunk in the final minute of the first quarter as well as a block and three-pointer at the end of the third.

It was just the eighth block of Price's three-year NBA career. "I've got more than eight, man,'' Price said. "I've got a few that they called some fouls on that were pretty clean."

In the final minute of the fourth quarter, Houston's Luis Scola was called for a much-debated offensive foul on Kirilenko as the Jazz forward tried to close out on McGrady in the corner. Adelman chastised Kirilenko afterward for flopping "like a truck just hit him."

"You can't call that,'' McGrady said. "I saw a replay and that was a bad call. I like [referee] Tony Brothers, but that was a bad call. Very, very bad call. Three points down at a crucial point in the game and Kirilenko flops - he flops - and you call the foul on that?"

McGrady once again faded as the Jazz dedicated their defense to stopping him. The Rockets star scored just one point in the fourth quarter and missed his final seven shots of the game. His last field goal came at the 8:25 mark of the third quarter.

"That's just our main goal is to keep wearing him out,'' Williams said, "and hopefully he doesn't get rolling because he's one of those guys that once he gets rolling, he's tough to stop."

With Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring, Paul Millsap and Price leading the way, the Jazz bench has outscored Houston's 54-32 in the series. That could change if Rafer Alston can return from a hamstring injury for Game 3, pushing Bobby Jackson back to the bench.

The Jazz were off Tuesday, but Alston went through another workout in Houston and told reporters he was going to try to play.

"It would really help us," Adelman said. "It gives us more depth again. Then again, he's been sitting around for a week. How sharp is he going to be? His timing?

"I don't know that, but you certainly would like to get him back. We'll just have to take it day-by day, as they say."

rsiler@sltrib.com

Clean sweep

The Jazz are on track with victories at home Thursday and Saturday over Houston to sweep a playoff series for the third time in franchise history. A look at the other two:

* 1997: First round, L.A. Clippers

* 1998: Conference finals, L.A. Lakers

Houston at Jazz

First round, Game 3

Thursday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, KJZZ

Tuesday's games

New Orleans 127, Dallas 103

Orlando 104, Toronto 103

San Antonio 102, Phoenix 96

Today's games

Philadelphia at Detroit, 5:30 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 6 p.m., TNT

Denver at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m., TNT