As if returning to Utah for Game 5 wasn't tough enough, the Houston Rockets were dealt additional bad news Saturday morning.
A team spokesman confirmed that an MRI on Charles Barkley's injured right triceps revealed a tear, which means the veteran forward will be sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs.Barkley hurt his arm in the second quarter of Game 4 when he was accidentally elbowed by Utah's Antoine Carr. He later returned but left for good after reaggravating the injury with 2:46 remaining in the third period.
"Doctors say it's going to take a miracle for me to be ready to play Sunday," Barkley said before the MRI. "I felt like I was going to have a really good (Game 4) and I was."
Barkley made four of five shots from the field in just nine minutes of action. However, once he left the game, the Rockets went into a franchise record-setting funk. Houston scored only 29 points in the second half as Utah rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to win 93-71 and force a decisive fifth game.
"We didn't have enough energy and we didn't have any firepower off the bench after we lost Charles to injury," Clyde Drexler said. "We just have to do what we have been doing as a team and stay positive."
And in their bid to become just the second No. 8 seed ever to win an NBA playoff series, the Rockets have plenty of things they can take comfort in.
Houston is a perfect 17-0 all-time mark in series in which they've won the first game; coach Rudy Tomjanovich is 11-3 in elimination games; and perhaps, most importantly, the Rockets are confident.
"There's always a chance," Tomjanovich said. "I'm still believing."
After a disappointing 41-41 regular-season record, Houston has proved to be a most dangerous eighth seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets surprised the Jazz in Game 1 and led their best-of-five series 2-1 before falling in Game 4.
"We've won there (in Utah) before. We just have to get together as a team and get the job done up there," said Drexler, who may be playing the final game of his 15-year NBA career Sunday in the Delta Center. He is retiring at season's end to become head coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston. "Emotionally, you know that you must win three out of five. We just have to remain positive. We started out the series in Utah and got the job done and now we just need to do it again."