Cuttino Mobley had a season-high 32 points and Houston took control in the first 3 1/2 minutes of overtime to defeat the Utah Jazz 107-101 Wednesday night.

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming (L) grabs for the ball after it was batted from his grasp by Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag. [AP]

Eric Piatkowski had five points and Steve Francis made three of four free throws as the Rockets opened the extra period with a 10-2 run to end a three-game losing streak. Yao Ming had 20 points and Francis finished with 19.

Matt Harpring and Andrei Kirilenko led the Jazz with 19 points apiece. Aleksandar Pavlovic, subbing for the ill DeShawn Stevenson, had a career-high 18 points — 14 in the first quarter — as the Jazz had their four-game winning streak snapped.

Greg Ostertag hit two free throws with 28 seconds left in regulation to put Utah ahead 93-92 before Yao scored on a layup with 17 seconds left. Kirilenko then hit one of two free throws with five seconds to play to send it into overtime.

The teams went back and forth in the third quarter with three lead changes and five ties before Utah inched its way to a 71-67 lead entering the fourth.

The Jazz quickly expanded that to an eight-point margin before Houston went on an 11-0 run to take a 78-75 lead with 7:36 remaining. It was close the rest of the way.

Early in the first quarter Pavlovic scored 10 unanswered points to lift Utah to a 14-4 lead. Pavlovic scored four more in an 9-0 run for a 24-10 lead. The Jazz led 28-15 at the quarter break.

Houston outscored Utah 14-4 in a five-minute span to tie the game at 34 with 4:54 left in the first half. Mobley's two free throws 1:24 before the half gave Houston its first lead, 40-39.

Mobley had 14, eight in the second quarter, as the Rockets settled for a 44-43 halftime lead.

Notes:@ Houston's Jim Jackson and John Amaechi and Utah's Stevenson all missed the game with the flu ... Jackson's illness caused the Rockets to use only their second different starting lineup of the year as Bostjan Nachbar replaced Jackson. New Orleans and Sacramento are the only teams to have used the same starting lineup in every game this season ... The three-game losing streak Houston brought into the game was its longest since losing four in a row last Feb. 25-March 4 ... The Jazz dropped to 1-6 on the road.

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