Jazz top Rockets for fourth straight win
Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward each scored 23 points to help the Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets 115-108 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.
James Harden had 35 points for the Rockets, who dropped their second in a row.
The Rockets trailed by double digits for much of the game as they struggled from 3-point range. Houston was just 8 of 32 to end a streak of 18 straight games with at least 10 3-pointers.
A pair of free throws by Harden cut Utah’s lead to four with less than two minutes remaining, but Joe Johnson hit a 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired on the other end to make it 110-103.
Three more free throws by Harden kept Houston in it, but Patrick Beverley missed a layup after a steal by Eric Gordon, and Gobert put it away with a layup that made it 112-106 with less than a minute left.
The Jazz won two of the three meetings, the first time since the 2011-12 season that they’ve won a season series over the Rockets. Manu Ginobili had 19 points, David Lee added 18 points and 10 rebounds and San Antonio rallied without Kawhi Leonard to beat Sacramento. San Antonio won its ninth straight and extended its NBA record for 50-win seasons to 18 straight. Tyreke Evans had a season-high 26 points for Sacramento. The Kings have lost six straight. Dion Waiters scored 24 points, Goran Dragic added 22 points and 10 assists, and the Miami Heat moved within a half-game of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by beating the Charlotte Hornets.
Cavaliers center Andrew Bogut will miss the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, because of a broken leg. Bogut was hurt Monday in his debut for Cleveland, an injury that occurred after the 7-footer was on the floor for just 58 seconds. The team said Bogut won’t need surgery, but he won’t be back in time to help Cleveland defend its NBA title. Bogut was signed to give Cleveland some frontcourt depth and another playmaker, and his loss will force general manager David Griffin to find another big man.