Utah Jazz cruise past Houston Rockets to move to 0.5 winning record – NBA Recap
The Utah Jazz improved to a .5 winning record of 6-6 after handing the Houston Rockets their third straight loss here on Monday night at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. Utah dominated the first half and then kept the
momentum alive in the second period as the Houston Rockets, who played without James Harden for much of the game due to a respiratory tract infection, were unable to hold the opposition down and eventually lost 91-102. Gordon Hayward came off the bench to
lead the Jazz with 15 points, where as Al Jefferson finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Randy Foye also added 14 points, going 4 of 7 from three point range. Patrick Patterson led the Rockets in scoring with a career high 19 points on the night. Jeremy
Lin finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists where as Terrence Jones had 12 points and 8 rebounds on the night.
Houston started the game hot, scoring the first seven points to grab an early 7-0 lead. However, Utah quickly found their rhythm on offence after missing their first six field goal attempts, and a three pointer by Marvin Williams
put them up 11-10. Jefferson then scored a jump shot and Williams followed with a layup to put the Jazz ahead 15-10, but Patterson scored the next seven points for Houston which included a three pointer, and tied the game at 17. Utah later went on a 5-0 run
and Williams scored another three near the end of the period as the Jazz had a 29-26 lead going into the second quarter.
Utah started the second period on a 13-0 run, extending their lead to 42-26 as Houston missed their first nine field goal attempts of the period. a jump shot by Williams later put the Jazz up 50-32, and back to back three pointers
by Foye had them up 59-36. The Rockets outscored the Jazz 8-2 to close the period but still trailed 44-61 at the end of the first half.
Utah held on to a comfortable lead for much of the third period, although a reverse layup by Lin brought the Jazz lead down to 70-60. Utah scored the next five points, but Houston again went on a 6-0 run to trail 66-75. Utah led
85-70 going into the final period.
The Jazz once again got off to a great start, going on a 7-0 run in the final period and extending their lead to 92-70 as the Rockets missed their first seven field goals. Two free throws by Marcus Morris had the Rockets trailing
85-98, but the Jazz comfortable won 102-91 in the end.
Utah shot 40.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from the distance where as the Rockets shot 34.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three point range. Utah also had a 55-49 advantage in rebounds, and dominated
the early periods to come out with a comfortable victory.
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