Rockets Fall Apart in Utah, Suffer 124-115 Loss to Jazz
Out of Sorts. The Unforgiving Stripe. Road Worriers.
Houston built a six-point lead at halftime, and even led by three points entering the fourth quarter. However, even against a bad Utah team, it wasn’t enough, as the Rockets lost to the Jazz, 124-115, on Saturday night. Houston was just out of sorts in Salt Lake City. Keyonte George scored 30 points off Utah’s bench to lead the Jazz. George even managed to outscore Houston’s entire bench. Other than Jeff Green, who was once again brilliant in limited action, the Rockets had no production from their bench. Green scored a season-high 16 points, and single-handedly kept Houston ahead in the third quarter.
In another waisted dominant performance, Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Jalen Green added 25 points and 10 assists. Amen Thompson chipped in 22 points and 9 boards, but the moral of this story is: Houston is sorely missing Fred VanVleet. With this loss, the Rockets are now 3-6 without FVV. Why is VanVleet so critical to Houston’s success? He’s the floor leader, and veteran who keeps the Rockets poised in crunch time. His value may not always show up in the stat sheet, but Houston is really suffering without their quarterback on the court. VanVleet is supposedly nearing a return, and the Rockets need him back sooner than later before they fall further down the Western Conference standings.
After starting the season as road warriors, Houston has turned into road worriers. The Rockets have now lost six consecutive games away from Toyota Center. And they won’t get another chance until they hit the road to play only the best team in the conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder. So there’s a very high chance this road skid moves to seven games in a row. Hopefully Houston can take advantage of their upcoming three game home-stand. But they’ll need to shoot the ball better from the charity stripe if they want to regain their earlier season success. The Rockets shot a dismal 10-for-18 from the free throw line against the Jazz. The charity stripe has become very unforgiving for Houston, it’s been one of the weaknesses all season.
The Rockets are now 5-8 in the second half of back-to-backs this season. The good news is, Houston has two days off before their next game, and the Rockets are 13-2 this season when they have two or more days of rest. They’ll need it, as another back-to-back awaits them at Toyota Center… first with a matchup against the East’s rising Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.