National Basketball Association
Houston 125, Utah 98
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 2, 2019
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials:
#36 Brent Barnaky, #40 Leon Wood, #19 James Capers
Attendance:
18306
By Field Level Media
James Harden recorded his 19th 40-point game this season, and the Houston Rockets snapped a two-game slide with a 125-98 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday at Salt Lake City.
Harden stuffed the stat sheet with 43 points, 12 rebounds, six steals, five assists and four blocks. He finished 15 of 15 at the free-throw line and essentially carried the Rockets to their second win in four meetings with Utah this season while extending his streak of consecutive 30-point games to 26.
Kenneth Faried added 16 points and 12 rebounds while Gerald Green (25 points) and Austin Rivers (16) combined for 41 points on 10-of-18 3-point shooting off the bench. The Rockets played without guard Chris Paul, who rested in the second game of a back-to-back.
Donovan Mitchell tallied 26 points on 7-of-24 shooting for Utah, which had won 10 of 12. Four others scored in double figures, but the Jazz mustered only 36 percent shooting against the Rockets' scuffling defense. Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 13 boards. Derrick Favors blocked five shots.
Swarmed under the previous night in Denver, the Rockets appeared shaky in the early stages before mounting a run down the stretch of the first quarter. Mitchell sank a pair of free throws to extend the Jazz lead to 27-21 with 3:10 left in the first, the final points of the frame for Utah.
Houston closed the period with a 10-0 burst, ignited by a four-point play from Harden and capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rivers. When Utah moved back in front on a Mitchell second-chance basket at the 5:35 mark of the second quarter, the Rockets rallied again, limiting Utah to just two field goals for the remainder of the period during a 20-6 run.
And, as they did in the first quarter, the Rockets beat the second-period buzzer with a 3-pointer, with Green doing the honors to extend the Houston lead to 63-50 at the intermission.
Harden and Faried did most of the heavy lifting for the Rockets in the first half, with Harden posting 29 points and Faried producing a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). The Jazz, meanwhile, committed 11 turnovers while shooting just 34 percent prior to the break.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Houston |
|
Utah |
|
James Harden 43 |
Scoring |
Donovan Mitchell 26 |
|
James Harden 5 |
Assists |
Donovan Mitchell 9 |
|
Kenneth Faried 12 |
Rebounds |
Rudy Gobert 13 |
|
James Harden 15 |
Free Throws Made |
Donovan Mitchell 10 |
|
James Harden 6 |
Steals |
Jae Crowder 4 |
|
James Harden 4 |
Blocks |
Derrick Favors 5 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Houston
|
125 |
46.0 |
15-39 |
30-37 |
17 |
48 |
8 |
15 |
14 |
| Utah
|
98 |
36.0 |
11-41 |
25-36 |
19 |
51 |
9 |
8 |
23 |
Upcoming Games
-
Utah will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Jazz have a W/L % of .516 after a win and .609 after a loss.
-
Houston will play their next game on the road against Phoenix. The Rockets have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .545 after a loss.
For more information, contact us