Jabari Smith Jr. puts up 31 as Rockets rumble past Jazz
Jabari Smith Jr. scored a game-high 31 points, Kevin Durant and Tari Eason chipped in double-doubles and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 125-105 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Monday.
Smith shot 12 of 17, drilled six 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds to ignite the Rockets, who won for the fourth time in six games. Durant paired 18 points with a season-high 12 assists while Eason logged 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Amen Thompson added 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds for the Rockets, who dominated the glass with a plus-16 margin.
Houston's Alperen Sengun flirted with a triple-double (16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists). Reed Sheppard tallied 15 points on five 3-pointers off the bench.
Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points but missed 9 of 10 from behind the arc for the Jazz, who played without Keyonte George (ankle), their second-leading scorer. Brice Sensabaugh posted 26 points and four treys as Utah took its third loss in a row.
Behind Smith, the Rockets erased an early turnover-fueled deficit with a hail of 3-pointers. Utah, courtesy of its full-court pressure, seized a quick 9-6 lead before Smith caught fire. Smith scored 14 first-quarter points on four 3-pointers and a fastbreak dunk, and Houston carried a 38-22 lead into the second period after drilling 8 of 13 from behind the arc.
Durant, who nailed a 3-pointer just before the period expired, and Sheppard hit two 3-pointers each in the first.
The Rockets missed all three of their 3-point tries in the second but countered with a whopping 26 points in the paint. The Jazz opened the second with a 13-2 blitz that shaved the deficit to 40-35, only for the Rockets to respond with a flurry of transition baskets.
Durant was the catalyst of the fastbreak attack. He recorded six assists in the second quarter, and Houston scored 14 fastbreak points in the period. Thompson sank a floater in the lane off a Sengun screen for a 58-37 lead with 3:58 to go in the second, and Houston took a 68-47 lead into halftime.
Smith gave the Rockets an 86-56 advantage on a fadeaway jumper with 5:22 left in the third quarter.
Houston eventually led by as many as 33 points. On the plus side for the Jazz, they converted 27 Rockets turnovers into 34 points.