The Thunder have emerged victorious in all three games against the Jazz this year, including a 104-98 win the last time these two teams met. In the victory, Kevin Durant led all scorers on the team with 31 points.
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And since the Jazz have a game in hand and an easier closing schedule than the Rockets, and since the Dallas Mavericks are still reeling from the revelation that Chandler Parsons will miss the rest of the season, the win gave their postseason odds a real boost; after Wednesday’s win, FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model has the likelihood of the Jazz making the playoffs at 90 percent. Durant had 23 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The game became tight and both teams exchanged the lead several times before James Harden made an assist pass to Dwight Howard who tied the game to 87-all on a dunk shot with 22.3 seconds remaining.
The two Treys led Utah in scoring, with Trey Burke scoring 17 points in just 12 minutes, and Trey Lyles scoring 14 points.
The Rockets answered with five in a row, but the Jazz scored the next six to take their first lead since the first quarter.
Harden had 26 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and a career-high eight steals, but the Rockets dropped their third straight.
The Jazz trailed by as many as 18 in the second half before rallying for their first lead of the game with about 4 minutes left. “They got into a rhythm second half and we were slow”. Which top conference rival will snag the big win tonight? In an effort to distract a free-throw shooter – a free throw is worth a single point – that’s what the Houston Rockets came up with? The Rockets stretched that advantage to 11 points but went cold again, extending their futility to 3-for-16 shooting before Brewer converted a wild runner through a foul and a corner 3-pointer with 61 seconds left.
NOTES: G Shelvin Mack made his 16th consecutive start since coming off the bench in his first appearance for Utah on February 21 against Portland.
Enjoy the exciting b-ball game from Oklahoma this evening, and always stick with MstarsNews for additional National Basketball Association gameday coverage later this week.
Jazz play at Timberwolves on Saturday.
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The Jazz’s last trip to Houston ended in disappointment and a 103-94 loss as Harden poured in a game-high 33 points.
