The Houston Rockets won their 13th straight game on Monday night, defeating the Utah Jazz 96-85 behind a great team effort in the second half.
When playing against the best team in basketball, you have to bring your A-game. For the first 24 minutes of their Monday bout with James Harden and the Houston Rockets, the Utah Jazz did just that. The Jazz led by as many as 15 during a very good first half of basketball, taking advantage of a Rockets team on the second night of a back-to-back.
However, the second half was all Houston. The Rockets played lockdown defense and got an offensive boost from their supporting cast, outscoring the Jazz by 16 over the final 24. In the end, they picked up yet another win, making it 13 in a row.
Tough one tonight. Next up, @Timberwolves. https://t.co/FJtLjCfARP
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 27, 2018
It was a very physical, chippy game. Harden lead Houston with 26 point, to go with 11 rebounds and six assists. Luc Mbah a Moute, who played well against Utah in the playoffs last year with the LA Clippers, came up big down the stretch. The veteran finished with 17 points on a perfect 7-7 from the floor.
Rudy Gobert led Utah with 17 points on the night. With Houston going small for most of the night, Gobert was able to capitalize and get some clean looks around the basket. I would have liked to see the Jazz get him the ball more down low, though. He had a big time height advantage all night long.
Ultimately, the Jazz were pretty sloppy. They turned the ball over 22 times, and just threw some head-scratching passes at times. They’re going to have to clean it up, and take care of the ball better going forward.
Houston did a really good job of drawing Gobert away from the basket. Utah switched everything on pick-and-rolls, which ended in Gobert having to guard Chris Paul and other guards quite often.
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I’m personally not a fan of small ball, but it worked really well for the Rockets on Monday night. They took advantage of the speed and shooting they had in the frontcourt, and that was big down the stretch.
The playoffs are right around the corner, and the Jazz are going to need every win they can get. They competed with a very good team here, but the Rockets weren’t exactly at their best. Each game is so important, so the Jazz are going to have to pick it up and play better.