Jazz at Rockets
The Utah Jazz are going to have to find a way to put some points on the board if they hope to compete with the host Houston Rockets on Saturday. The Jazz are coming off an 85-77 home loss to the Chicago Bulls in which they were held to 38.5 percent from the field.
Utah makes its mark on the defensive end but also features capable scorers like Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward, who combined to go 8-of-31 from the floor in Thursday's loss to the Bulls. "We can be better," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told espn.com. "There's no question about that. We'll try to be better, but ... it's an 82-game season. You've got to do everything you can to get better when you don't play well. We didn't play well. I don't think we have to examine everything and start over." The Rockets put up 126 points in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday and scored 100 or more in 10 of the first 12 games. James Harden needed just three quarters to post a triple-double against Portland - his third of the season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT Rocky Mountain (Utah), ROOT Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (7-6): Utah point guard George Hill missed his sixth straight game with a thumb injury on Thursday, and his absence is depriving the team of the 20.4 points on 54.1 percent shooting he managed in the first seven contests. Hayward was forced to do more on the glass with starting power forward Derrick Favors (knee) sitting out Thursday and grabbed 12 boards but managed a season-low eight points on 3-of-15 shooting. Hayward is 7-of-29 from the floor in the last two games, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (7-5): Harden endured his worst game of the season in a loss at Oklahoma City on Wednesday, scoring 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting, but bounced back with 26 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in the romp over the Trail Blazers the next night. Harden had a familiar face alongside in the backcourt for the first time this season with Patrick Beverley making his debut against Portland and scoring 11 points in 25 minutes. The 28-year-old, who missed the first 11 games recovering from a knee injury, is giving up his point guard duties to Harden this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hill is day-to-day while Favors is out indefinitely due to a bone contusion in his left knee.
2. Rockets SF Trevor Ariza is averaging 14.8 points in the last four games and buried multiple 3-pointers in each of those contests.
3. Utah took the last two in the four-game series last season, including an 89-87 win at Houston on March 23.