Now, coach Rick Adelman has upped the ante.

Adelman wants the NBA to look at what he considers the Wrestlemania-type tactics that have limited McGrady's success, especially in the fourth quarter.

"You have to look at the tape and send it in to the league," Adelman told the Houston Chronicle. "Hopefully, they will look at it and say, 'This isn't right.' But for the most part, that's asking someone else to do what you have to do. You have to respond."

How?

"Harder cuts and moving make it more apparent to the officials," he said.

According to Adelman, the Jazz are just "laying on Tracy. They were doing more things to him out on the floor than they do on the post. That is something that has to be addressed by our league. It's gotten worse and worse. If they want to clean up the game, . . . they have to address that issue. They took every advantage, trying to be physical on the floor. I don't think it should be allowed."

McGrady averages 23.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists in the series. But he is shooting 38 percent and has been shut down when it counts the most.

In the fourth quarter, McGrady has scored a total of 12 points - and only five in Houston's three losses. He has missed 13 of his 16 field-goal attempts.

Of course, the Jazz plead innocent to charges of first-degree mugging.

Coach Jerry Sloan calls Adelman's complaints "playoff talk. . . . All we can do is worry about playing. That's what we try to tell our guys: 'Just worry about playing basketball.' "

Asked if the Jazz have been overly aggressive against McGrady, Sloan shrugged and said, "That's why they have officials."

The Jazz have limited McGrady's success by alternating Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring and Andrei Kirilenko as his primary defender and quickly running others at him when he drives around screens or heads into the lane.

"I think we are playing him physical," Korver said, "but we're not playing him dirty. I think it's just a bunch of complaining. But whatever. They can say whatever they want to say, but we're not hitting 'em with flagrant fouls. . . . We're just playing physical. We're just playing hard."

Brewer starts the game on McGrady and said, "I don't think I'm playing rough, where they could send in any tape on me. I'm playing him straight-up, contesting every shot and making him work hard. I think that's good defense. . . .

"I guess you could say we're physical when he goes into the post, but you can't just let somebody own that area. You have to hold your position, just like they've got to hold theirs. I think it's good, clean basketball."

McGrady has shot a series-high 33 free throws in four games. He has made only 19.

"He's a great player with a variety of skills," Brewer said. "If you let him run anywhere he wants to go, he's going to take advantage of you. . . . I think where we've been successful is taking him out of his comfort zone - not letting him go where he wants to, not letting him take uncontested shots, not letting him get to the basket without some type of contact. If that's dirty play, a lot of people in the NBA play dirty."

Kirilenko usually guards McGrady down the stretch.

"I wouldn't say we're playing dirty against him," he said. "We're playing physical and that is the only key possible to stop him. I think you need to meet him early, kind of be in his way and be a little annoying."

Is Kirilenko worried about Adelman's complaints?

"I don't think we are doing anything over the line," he said. "He still gets some fouls and still gets on the line. We try to force him to shoot the ball over our head, with a hand in his face, but not fouling. I don't think we even foul him hard so far."

luhm@sltrib.com

Tracy McGrady's statistics in the fourth quarter of the first four games in the series:

Min. FGs 3-Ptr FTs Reb Ast Pts

Game 1 8:38 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 0

Game 2 9:49 0-4 0-2 1-2 3 0 1

Game 3 12:00 2-8 0-0 3-4 2 1 7

Game 4 8:13 1-1 0-0 2-4 3 1 4