Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Match Player Stats On Dec 07, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 8, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY -- James Harden scored 29 points and Ryan Anderson added 23 to lead the Houston Rockets to a 112-101 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.

Chris Paul added 18 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for the Rockets. Houston (19-4) won its eighth consecutive game and prevailed for the 14th time in its past 15 games.

The Rockets made 18 3-pointers, giving them a total of 41 in two games against the Jazz this season.

Donovan Mitchell had 26 points, Alec Burks added 17 points and Thabo Sefolosha chipped in 14 to lead the Jazz. Utah (13-13) dropped its second straight game.

The Jazz played from behind throughout much of the first half after struggling with bad passes and erratic shooting. They committed eight turnovers in the first half, leading to 13 points for the Rockets.

Utah made a pair of runs to gain brief leads. Each time, Houston surged back ahead with a flurry of baskets.

Joe Ingles and Jonas Jerebko scored back-to-back baskets to key a 6-0 run and put Utah ahead 16-15. Anderson slashed to the rim for a dunk to put the Rockets back in front. He bookended an ensuing 7-0 spurt with a put-back layup, giving Houston a 22-16 lead.

Utah rallied again midway through the second quarter. The Jazz strung together a 11-2 run, bookended by a step-back jumper and go-ahead 3-pointer from Sefolosha, to take a 36-34 lead. Once again, Houston had an answer instead of a problem.

Trevor Ariza turned a pair of steals into back-to-back baskets to ignite a 10-0 run for the Rockets. Harden capped the surge with a layup that gave Houston a 44-36 lead.

The Rockets zoomed away from Utah after halftime. Clint Capela converted a three-point play and threw down a dunk on either end of a 13-2 run that helped Houston build a 74-53 lead just five minutes into the third quarter.

Houston led by as many as 25 points in the second half, going up 91-66 when Ariza drained a 3-pointer for the Rockets' first basket of the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Rockets C Zhou Qi (sore left calf) missed his fourth straight game, and F Troy Williams (right knee sprain) was sidelined for a second game in a row. ... Jazz G Rodney Hood (left ankle soreness) did not play for a sixth consecutive game. ... Rockets G James Harden has averaged 35.4 points in his last five games against Utah. ... Jazz C Rudy Gobert is averaging 5.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game since returning from a knee contusion. He had six points and nine boards Thursday.