Houston @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 18, 2017 ) Utah 99, Houston 120

The Houston Rockets try for their 13th straight victory and first season series sweep of Utah since 1981-82 when they visit the Jazz on Monday. Houston, which has won 16 of its last 17 games and leads Golden State by one-half game for the NBA's best record, began a three-game road trip with a 119-114 victory over Denver on Sunday as James Harden continued his MVP-type season with 41 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Rockets' narrowest triumph during their streak came Sunday, and their average margin of victory is 13.5 points. Utah bounced back from having its 11-game winning streak snapped with a 97-90 triumph over Dallas on Saturday and is 10th in the Western Conference, two games behind the Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot. “We need to improve on communication,” the Jazz's Derrick Favors told reporters. “Improve on the little things, which is easy and fixable. I think there’s still a little rust from All-Star break, but it’s easy to fix.” Houston won the first three meetings in 2017-18, including a 112-101 victory at Utah on Dec. 7, with Harden averaging 37 points and Clint Capela producing 13 and 11.7 rebounds per game during the season series.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (46-13): Harden is averaging an NBA-best 31.5 points - well ahead of Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo (27.8) - and his 8.96 assists are second only to Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (10.4). Trevor Ariza contributed 14 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes Sunday in his second game since missing nine and all but one minute of a 10th because of a hamstring injury. Eric Gordon (18.9 points) missed his third straight contest Sunday - the last two because of illness, paving the way for Joe Johnson to average 8.7 points and 27.3 minutes in his first three games with Houston.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (31-29): Donovan Mitchell recorded 25 points versus Dallas - his 30th game this season with 20-plus points - and leads all NBA rookies at 19.7 per game. “I think he should be Rookie of the Year, for sure,” Portland's Damian Lillard told reporters. “Not just because of his numbers, but his impact on their team. He’s basically leading them. It’s special to see a rookie be able to do what he’s doing out there.” Ricky Rubio (12 points, 5.2 assists) totaled 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while going 4-for-15 from the floor in 49 minutes over two games since missing three with a hip injury.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Utah F Joe Ingles (10.9 points per game), who played in his 200th consecutive contest Friday, has made 150 3-pointers this season and is on pace to break the club record of 178 set in 2012-13 by Randy Foye.

2. The Rockets are 30-1 when Harden, Capela and Chris Paul are in the lineup, with the only blemish being a 115-113 setback on Jan. 26 at New Orleans.

3. The last five players to record 30 or more performances of at least 20 points over their first 59 career games are Mitchell, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.

PREDICTION: Rockets 108, Jazz 103