SALT LAKE CITY — The way the Utah Jazz were playing defense, they didn't need much of a lead to pull away and end Houston's four-game winning streak.

The Jazz had a season-high 12 blocks, made six steals and forced 12 turnovers while winning their third straight, 99-86, over the Rockets last night.

"That shows how we were playing good help defense," said Utah's Ronnie Brewer, who scored 12 of his 17 points in the third quarter. "We really defended well tonight."

With the win, Utah pulled within one-half game of Denver in the Northwest Division with just 12 regular-season games left. The Jazz also kept the Rockets' stay on top of the Southwest brief, beating Houston two days after it moved into first place with a win at San Antonio.

Deron Williams had 19 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, whose defense compensated for a poor night on the boards, where they were outrebounded 52-42.

"They were aggressive, and aggressive teams usually win the game," Houston coach Rick Adelman said. "They don't usually block a lot of shots."

Still, Utah coach Jerry Sloan wasn't about to proclaim this the best defensive performance he had seen from the Jazz.

"I'm not totally going to buy all that. I thought it wasn't too bad," Sloan said. "They went in and missed some shots underneath the basket."

Aaron Brooks scored 20 points, and Yao Ming added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets.

The Jazz went 19 for 25 from the foul line and limited the Rockets to 12 of 14 free throws.

Carlos Boozer had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Mehmet Okur finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks for Utah. Paul Millsap spelled Boozer when he got in foul trouble and finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko added two blocks each.

"We did a good job," Boozer said. "We tried to plug that paint up and make them take jump shots."

LAKERS 107, THUNDER 89

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kobe Bryant scored 19 points, and Pau Gasol added 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers closed to one game of idle Cleveland (57-13) for the best record in the NBA.

Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 24 points.

BULLS 99, PISTONS 91

CHICAGO — Kirk Hinrich scored 24 points, and Tyrus Thomas added 18 points and 12 rebounds as Chicago closed to a game of seventh-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference.

Tayshaun Prince and Will Bynum scored 20 each for the Pistons.

SPURS 107, WARRIORS 106

SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker scored 30 points and Roger Mason added 24, including the go-ahead jumper with 23.8 seconds left, to lift San Antonio.

Monta Ellis led Golden State with 27 points, but missed a jumper with 5.9 seconds left, then watched his running 3-pointer as time expired clank off the front of the rim.

NOTES

Bulls: Rookie of the Year candidate Derrick Rose sat out last night's game against Detroit because of a bruised right wrist. Rose missed his first game after being injured on a dunk attempt in the first half of Monday's 101-99 victory at Washington. X-rays and an MRI revealed no structural damage.

Wizards: Three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas practiced yesterday and remains on course to make his season debut against Detroit on Saturday. Arenas played in only 13 games last season and none so far this season as he's dealt with a left knee injury that led to three surgeries in an 18-month span.

Nuggets: Linas Kleiza has been fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of officials after a game against Washington on Friday. The NBA announced the fine yesterday, but didn't disclose what Kleiza said to the officials.

Raptors: Guard Marcus Banks had season-ending surgery on his right foot yesterday, and Toronto signed guard Quincy Douby to a 10-day contract for the final 12 games. Banks, a six-year veteran, was averaging 2.5 points and 1.3 assists