Hayward goes for 31, Jazz drub Rockets
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 31 points and Rudy Gobert added 16 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Utah Jazz to a 120-101 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
Rodney Hood added 19 points for the Jazz before leaving with a right hamstring strain in the third quarter. Utah (11-8) won its third straight home game after shooting 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from 3-point range.
James Harden scored 26 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Rockets and Eric Gordon chipped in 24 points off the bench. Houston (11-7) trailed through all of the second, third and fourth quarters and lost just for the second time in its last seven games.
Utah's offense came out of the gates on fire. The Jazz shot a blistering 75 percent from the field (15-of-20) in the first quarter, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range. It helped Utah weather an early scoring lift-off from the Rockets.
Houston sprinted out to a 16-9 lead after scoring baskets on five straight possessions. Ryan Anderson started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers and the Rockets kept it going with transition baskets.
Utah clamped down defensively in transition and quickly erased the deficit. The Jazz scored baskets on nine straight possessions, bookended by 3-pointers from Hood and Trey Lyles, to take a 29-21 lead with 3:17 left in the first quarter.
Offensive fireworks continued into the second quarter for the Jazz. Utah twice built a 15-point lead, the second time on a George Hill 3-pointer with 6:01 left in the half that gave the Jazz a 53-38 cushion.
Houston briefly rallied early in the third quarter and cut Utah's lead to 62-54 on back-to-back baskets from Harden and Clint Capela. The Jazz ripped off nine unanswered points, capped by a pair of free throws from Hayward, to push their lead to 71-54.
The Rockets cut Utah's lead to single digits again before the end of the quarter, making it 82-73 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Gordon. Houston could not get any closer before the Jazz heated up on offense again to put the game out of reach.
Utah scored on 10 straight possessions to go up 114-93 with 4:11 remaining. Hayward ignited the run with a layup and capped it off with three straight baskets -- including a pair of 3-pointers.