The Utah Jazz trailed big, led big, and eventually lost a 93-91 heartbreaker to the Houston Rockets Monday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Rodney Hood led the Jazz with 23 points and seven assists. Gordon Hayward added 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block, while Jeff Withey filled the box score with eight points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks in 35 minutes.
The Jazz (15-18) played without Derrick Favors (back) for the sixth straight game.
Houston’s James Harden did what he does best–draw lots of fouls that are not well-received by opposing players and fans–and finished with a game-high 30 points on 9-for-25 shooting (and 8-for-9 from the line). He scored 22 of his points in the second half.
Dwight Howard (16 points), Trevor Ariza (10 points) and Patrick Beverley (10 points) were the only other players to score in double figures for the Rockets (17-19).
Monday’s Best
Rookie Trey Lyles had the best night of his young career, scoring a career-high 13 points and grabbing four rebounds in 22 minutes. Starting for the 17th time whilst filling in for both Favors and Rudy Gobert, Lyles was assertive on offense, going 6-for-10 (including 1-for-3 from beyond the arc).
Key Stretch
The Jazz owned the middle of the game, outscoring the Rockets 56-41 in the second and third quarters and building a 15-point lead, but Houston turned it on late, beginning the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run to take an 81-79 lead. The teams went back and forth from there, with the game coming down to the final possessions.
With the Jazz trailing 91-89, Withey took a pass on the baseline and rose up to throw down a game-tying dunk with 25 seconds left in the game when he was hacked on the arm from behind by Harden and slammed in the body by Montrezl Harrell. Play stopped as everyone on the court-including the entire Rockets team–awaited a whistle … that never came.
So there’s that.
Houston turned that no-call into a free throw on the other end to take a three-point lead. On Utah’s ensuing possession, Hood was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 6.3 seconds left. The second-year sharpshooter sank the first two and … bounced the third off the rim, squandering a golden opportunity to tie the game. The Rockets grabbed the rebound, made a free throw with 3.2 seconds left and watched as the Jazz weren’t able to get off a desperation shot before the buzzer.
Significant Stat
The Jazz owned the boards, grabbing 44 rebounds (to Houston’s 34) including 15 on the offensive glass–from which they scored 24 second-chance points (to Houston’s four).
Coach’s Quote of the Night
“In the fourth quarter we missed. [Houston] did a good job guarding us. They have good individual defenders … and we didn’t get as many good looks. We only got one 3-point shot, and we didn’t have as much success getting in the paint.
–Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
Trey Burke scored 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting off the bench. … Trevor Booker finished with five points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes. … Hood went 5-for-6 from 3-point range, marking the third straight game he’s made at least four 3-pointers. … Harden committed eight turnovers. … The Jazz will face Houston again on Thursday as part of a two-game Texas trip.
Up Next
The Jazz will hit the road to take on the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. MT.
