Rockets at Jazz
The last time the Houston Rockets visited Salt Lake City, it resulted in the worst home loss in Utah Jazz history. The two teams square off Saturday with Utah hoping to erase the feeling of that 125-80 pounding last season. Houston punished Utah in that Jan. 28 outing by knocking down 16 3-pointers and handing the Jazz the fifth-worst loss in franchise history – and second-worst since moving from New Orleans to Salt Lake City.
The Rockets have started the Dwight Howard era off with back-to-back victories, including Friday’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Howard averaged 15 points and 21 rebounds in the two victories while star guard James Harden averaged 27.5 points while playing through wrist and back ailments. Utah’s first two games have come down to last-second shots with the Jazz coming up short both times – one on Gordon Hayward’s miss against Oklahoma City and again on Friday when Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe hit the decisive 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Houston, ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (2-0): Jeremy Lin is again the starting point guard after it was revealed Friday that Patrick Beverley would be sidelined at least 10-to-14 days with a torn abdominal muscle. “It’s sad that he got hurt the first game of the season,” Howard said. “Hopefully he has a speedy recovery. We’re all behind him. Other guys have to step up now and play big for us.” Lin had 14 points in 30 minutes against Dallas but also had more turnovers (six) than assists (four).
ABOUT THE JAZZ (0-2): Utah is hoping Hayward will step up as the go-to guy after the departures of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, and he displayed a sign of that by hitting a tying 3-pointer with 22.5 seconds left in the loss to the Suns. But that shot marked his only field goal of the second half in an outing in which he scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half. The Jazz had plenty more problems than Hayward as they committed 21 turnovers, missed 10 free throws and shot 36.5 percent from the field. “We’ve got to be able to execute down the stretch,” Hayward said.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Houston has won the last three meetings and seven of the past 11.
2. Jazz C Enes Kanter has recorded double-doubles in each of the first two games while averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds.
3. PG Aaron Brooks will see his minutes increase with Beverley out and had 13 points in 23 minutes against the Mavericks.