The Utah Jazz took advantage of Tracy McGrady's absence to greet the arrival of his new son.
Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 17 rebounds as the visiting Jazz beat the Houston Rockets last night, 82-74.
McGrady scored 21 points in the first half, then left the arena when he learned his fiancee was going into labor at a local hospital. Rockets spokesman Nelson Luis said after the game that Clerenda Harris gave birth to a boy, and the couple named him Laymen Lamar.
Luis also said he expected McGrady to play tonight, when the Rockets are in Oklahoma City to play the Hornets.
Houston's offense crumbled without McGrady - the Rockets went 12-forf-42 (29 percent) and mustered an anemic 33 points in the second half of another dismal homecourt defeat.
"Family comes first," Utah's Andrei Kirilenko said. "I just want to congratulate Tracy. It's good for him, but it was not good for the Houston Rockets."
He added: "No doubt, Tracy's one of the best players in the league. We liked it when he was out."
In the first half, McGrady looked as if he was ready to have a huge night. Guarded by Kirilenko, he scored eight points in the opening 4 minutes and led the Rockets to an early six-point lead.
Besides his 21 points, McGrady also had five assists, four rebounds and two blocks in the opening half before leaving for the hospital.
In other games:
* At East Rutherford, N.J., Richard Jefferson scored 28 points and the New Jersey Nets extended their winning streak to seven with a 96-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who got 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists from LeBron James.
* At Auburn Hills, Mich., Richard Hamilton scored 24, Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 13 assists, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors, 113-106, for their eighth straight victory. The Pistons improved to an NBA-best 23-3, their best 26-game record in franchise history.
* At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 35 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 23 as the Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-98.
* At Los Angeles, Mike Bibby scored 17 of his season-high 38 points in the third quarter and added a season-best 10 assists, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Clippers, 110-93.
* At Atlanta, Primoz Brezec made the go-ahead basket in the final seconds and Brevin Knight scored 22 points as the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Hawks, 93-90.
* At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 27 points, Manu Ginobili sparked the decisive run in his return from a foot injury, and the Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers, 99-86.
Noteworthy
* Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash was honored as Canada's male athlete of the year by the Canadian Press, winning in a landslide vote over Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Sidney Crosby and Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jason Bay. Nash was born in South Africa and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. He also won the honor in 2002. *
