Rockets at Jazz
The Houston Rockets look to notch their 10th victory in 14 games when they visit the Utah Jazz on Saturday. It is a crucial contest for both teams with Utah sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the Rockets.
Houston resumed play after the All-Star break with a resounding 135-105 road win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Rockets knocked down 25-of-49 3-point attempts and All-Star guards James Harden (29 points, 10 assists) and Russell Westbrook (21 points, 10 assists) each had double-doubles. The Jazz had a four-game winning streak halted on Friday by digging an 19-point halftime deficit while falling 113-104 to the visiting San Antonio Spurs. "There was no physicality," All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell told reporters of Utah's poor showing. "They played like they didn’t have an All-Star break, like they were ready to go. And we didn't come ready to go from the jump. We can't afford to have these games. They eat away at you."
TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, NBA TV Canada
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (35-20): The franchise's small-ball approach has become magnified with the recent trade of big man Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks that netted outside shooter Robert Covington from the Minnesota Timberwolves and coach Mike D'Antoni poked fun at reporters by saying they no longer have to ask if he is going big or small. "I don't have to worry about that now," D'Antoni told reporters. "I couldn't make that decision so I decided to just give me no choice. You're assuming we have a strategy, we're going to play small. We don't need to go big. Our team is better this way and if we're going to dive in we might as well go all the way in." Post player P.J. Tucker displayed he is fit for the philosophy by making all five of his 3-point attempts against the Warriors.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (36-19): Friday's home loss was just Utah's sixth in 26 games and it left coach Quin Snyder in a highly disturbed mood. “We got what we deserved," Snyder told reporters while pointing out the defensive effort wasn't up to par. "We capitulated too easily in a lot of situations.” Mitchell was a subpar 5-of-14 shooting while scoring only 12 points, small forward Bojan Bogdanovic connected on just 3-of-13 shots while scoring 15 points and swingman Joe Ingles hit on 3-of-10 attempts while scoring eight points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets have won seven of the past 10 meetings, including a split of this season's first two matchups.
2. Utah C Rudy Gobert scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and collected 14 rebounds for his sixth consecutive double-double and 18th in the past 19 contests.
3. Houston SG Eric Gordon (leg) is expected to miss his fourth straight game.