Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets: Game 4 instant reactions

Despite a valiant effort, the short-handed Utah Jazz fell 100-87 at home to the Houston Rockets, falling to a 1-3 series deficit. Do the Jazz have what it takes to steal a second straight game in Houston or is this series as good as over?

The Utah Jazz looked to bounce back on Sunday after an embarrassing Game 3 loss which saw them fall to a 70-40 halftime deficit on their home court. While the Jazz showed some resiliency in Game 4, Houston again proved why they had the NBA’s best regular season record.

The Jazz now find themselves down 3-1 and on the brink of elimination. Did Utah do enough well in Game 4 to steal a second win on Houston’s home court and force a Game 6 in Utah? Here are my instant reactions from Sunday’s hard-fought matchup.

Slow starts doom Jazz

The Jazz found success in their lone victory this series after jumping to an early lead over the Houston Rockets in Game 2. In Games 3 and 4, however, Houston has been the early aggressor.

In Sunday’s matchup, the Rockets were able to jump out to a quick 11-3 lead in the opening quarter. Houston’s fast start, led by 14 first-quarter points from James Harden, resulted in a 30-23 lead at the end of the first period. Harden would go on to finish with 24 points, shooting just 1-of-7 from downtown.

The second quarter began in similar fashion. The Rockets built a 15 point lead after opening the quarter on a 13-5 run.

Despite a combined 21 second-quarter points from Utah’s rookie combo of Donovan Mitchell and Royce O’Neale, Utah still found themselves trailing the Rockets by 10 at halftime. Mitchell finished with a team-high 25 points while O’Neale chipped in eight.

O’Neale did provide us with this beauty though…

The Jazz had to play catch-up the rest of the night. Houston was able to extend their lead to as many as 19 in the third period, however, the Jazz wouldn’t go away. Utah fought back and got the game back to within five points with six minutes remaining.

Timely shots by Chris Paul, who finished with a game-high 27 points, killed Utah’s late run and any chance at tying the series up heading back to Houston.

Can Dante catch a break?

After staying relatively healthy in their opening round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the injury bug has returned to plague the Jazz again.

Despite being upgraded to questionable before the game, Ricky Rubio was again out for the Jazz in Game 4. Derrick Favors, who was dealing with a left ankle sprain, was available and gave Utah 16 minutes off of the bench.

The injuries didn’t stop there, though. Dante Exum left the game midway through the third quarter with an apparent hamstring injury. There is no word yet from the Jazz on the extent of the injury, but it didn’t look good.

As he was driving below the bucket, Exum grabbed his hamstring and then immediately ran back to the locker room before collapsing in the tunnel.

Really though, can this guy catch a break?

Exum, who started the game with an impressive nine-point first quarter, was one of Utah’s few bright spots offensively. He has also played extremely well on James Harden defensively. Outside of the injury, Exum was also called for a few questionable calls that led to early foul trouble. Including this call….

https://twitter.com/espn/status/993318022701035521

Seriously, what did Dante do to deserve this?

After an ineffective first series, Exum has begun to show his potential with this Jazz squad. Fingers crossed the injury looked worse than it actually is. If the Jazz are going to force a Game 6, they will need players like Exum to step up.

Clint Gobert Capela dominates

All season long, Jazz fans have gotten used to hearing the phrase “the Gobert Factor”. Sunday’s Game 4 was largely decided because of a different a factor and that was Houston’s Clint Capela.

Capela finished the night with an impressive 12 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Those were very impressive numbers from Houston’s big man. The stats, however, only tell half the story. Much like the defensive impact that Jazz fans have become accustomed to in watching Rudy Gobert, Capela’s ability to alter shots and disrupt the paint were crucial to Houston’s success.

Before the game, if you would have told me Houston would only shoot 26 percent from three on just 10 makes, I would have told you that the Jazz had a great chance to even the series at two games apiece.

Despite the uncharacteristically poor shooting, Capela’s impacts kept Utah at a safe distance for much of the game.

Entering the series, I compared both teams’ lineups, including the matchup between Gobert and Capela. While I believed it would be a close battle, I gave Gobert the upper hand. Capela, however, has outplayed Gobert all series long.

His ability to force drivers to take midrange floaters or dribble out of the paint entirely is an exact copy of Rudy’s game. In essence, Capela is out-Goberting Rudy Gobert.

What’s next?

The Jazz travel back to Houston for Game 5 on Tuesday to try to save their season. While Utah played much better Sunday night, they will have to play on another level to steal a second road win against this top-seeded Rockets squad.

Do the Jazz have what it takes to force a Game 6? Of course, they do. It will just take a special performance from a few Jazzmen to do it.

All hope is not lost, Jazz fans. Has this team given you a reason to doubt? I, for one, look forward to seeing what this team does with their backs against the wall and everyone counting them out (looking at you TNT broadcasting crew).

Next: Utah Jazz: Come for the game, stay for the press conference

What are your thoughts from Game 4? Can the Jazz force a Game 6 with the Rockets or is their season over? Let me know what you think in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @TylerDThorpe.