Rockets try to regain edge
Victory regains momentum after crushing Game 2 loss
The Rockets will look to their core group of trusted veterans as they try to regain the advantage in their second-round series in Game 3 at Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Rockets had been stewing and planning, waiting through 48 unpleasant, uncomfortable hours to spit out the bitter taste of a maddening loss.
They had been smacked. The Utah Jazz bloodied their nose and stole the home court the Rockets had spent six months earning. The Rockets had been threatened, challenged as they had not been in months.
They did not like it. On Friday, the Jazz paid. The Rockets bullied the Jazz from end to end. They stole their lunch money. They kicked sand in their faces. With a merciless half and one more punch to start the second half, the Rockets built a 38-point lead and cruised to a 113-92 romp, taking a 2-1 lead in their best-
of-seven second-round series with the Jazz.
As they rolled, they demonstrated again their seasonlong distaste for losing streaks, having not lost consecutive games with James Harden and Chris Paul healthy since Dec. 20 and 22.
“That's during the year,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said of that track record before Friday’s game. “Obviously, we hope it carries over. No guarantees, but I think they got our attention. They smacked us good.”
The Rockets hit back with a suffocating defensive performance, taking away nearly everything the Jazz had taken so easily in Game 2, but especially the defense-breaking drives of Donovan Mitchell and sharpshooting of Joe Ingles. Mitchell was just 1-of-11 before he finally dropped in a pair of 3s in the final minute of the third quarter. Ingles, who had 27 in Game 2, headed to the fourth quarter, with just six points on 2-of-8 shooting.
The Rockets let up just enough to keep the starters on the floor with the Jazz closing to within 23 with eight minutes left.
That was not about to change much beyond making the Jazz feel better. The Rockets had gotten just about everything they wanted from the evening, with Harden scoring 25 points with 12 assists, Paul getting 15 points and seven assists and Eric Gordon putting together his best game of the postseason, making eight of 13 shots for 25 points.
The Jazz held one lead, when they opened the game with an Ingles 3. It lasted 40 seconds before the Rockets dominated.
The Rockets piled up 70 firsthalf points, their most in the opening half of a playoff game since they had 70 against Portland in 1987. They took their lead to 30 by halftime
As often as the Rockets cite their defense to explain their finest offensive performances, they would have had a hard time to make that case after Friday’s first half, which was remarkable since the defense was sensational.
The Rockets corrected nearly every defensive issue from Game 2, cutting off most rolls on slipped screens to the rim, rotating smartly and closing out aggressively on shooters. Mitchell, who had been such a sensation in closing out the Thunder and in Game 2 against the Rockets, went 1-of-10 in the first half, getting just two points and two assists with two turnovers.
They were so active and assertive, they forced 11 turnovers leading to 17 points. In one stretch, Clint Capela turned away four consecutive Jazz shots at the rim, forcing a pair of missed layups as guards sought to finish over him and emphatically stuffing Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.
The Rockets went 21-0 this season when Capela blocked three or more shots. He had three in his 19 first-half minutes.
Yet, the Rockets were so sharp offensively, they got great looks from the rim to the 3point line, from the top to the halftime buzzer. They shot well, hitting 38.1 percent of their 3s, but the success of the offense came from nearly everything the Rockets would want.
Harden repeatedly found Capela inside, getting seven assists with his 10 points. Paul had 12 points with five assists. P.J. Tucker put in the midrange jump hooks the Jazz allow between the paint and 3-point line. Most of all, Eric Gordon tore through his 16 first-half minutes, giving the bench the lift that was lacking in the first two games of the series, scoring 17 points on six of eight shooting.
The Rockets executed so well, they had just three turnovers in the first half, reducing the second half to a test of little more than their attention span. The point that they came to Utah to make —along with regaining the lead in the series — had been made.