Given the teams’ lengthy history of epic showdowns, beating the Houston Rockets remains a succulent treat for the Utah Jazz.
An old, Klingon proverb states that revenge is a dish best served cold. That dish is better defined as a delicacy when its comes in the form of the Utah Jazz getting a measure of payback against the Houston Rockets. If you’re a fan of the blue, green and gold crew, there are few things sweeter in life.
The Jazz band got another taste of sweetness on Wednesday when they battled their way to a 100-89 win over James Harden and company in Space City.
Normally, I eschew my fandom on The J-Notes in favor of objectivity, journalistic integrity and/or other such contrivances. Not this time; even if you have to attach an asterisk to this particular win, I’m still inclined to invoke the words of Hot Rod Hundey and say, “You gotta love it, baby.”
I mean, sure…Utah still hasn’t played its best game, and there were definitely some extenuating circumstances in play. Specifically, Chris Paul was suspended, Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight were out of commission and Harden left the game early with a hamstring injury.
But forget all that — the Jazz beat the Rockets!
The same Rockets that delayed Karl Malone and John Stockton‘s rise to prominence in the early 90s.
The team that made Andrei Kirilenko cry a decade ago (that one may not be wholly accurate, but I’ll give them partial credit, anyway).
Finally, the guys who punked Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the crew during the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
The Rockets had it coming to them. And if there’s any semblance of order or justice out there in the universe, they’ll get more of the same throughout the 2018-19 NBA season and into the playoffs.
This one may not have been “John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals” or T-Mac failing to escape Round 1 for the umpteenth time, but for a longtime Jazz connoisseur like me, beating Houston more than hits the spot under any circumstances.
Even when it’s in the fourth game of the regular season.