Jalen Green scores 34, leads Rockets to 11th straight win with 101-100 victory over Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Jalen Green scored 30 of his 34 points in the second half and had nine rebounds as the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 101-100 on Friday night for their 11th straight win.
Fred VanVleet had 22 points, Amen Thompson added 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Jabari Smith Jr. finished with 14 points for the Rockets. Houston scored 27 points off 21 Utah turnovers and outscored the Jazz 25-12 in second-chance points.
Dominating the offensive glass and winning the turnover battle helped the Rockets offset a sluggish start and 38.5% shooting from the field.
“You don’t hang your head when it’s not going easy early,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “We were guarding well enough, and we knew the worm would turn as far as the shooting.”
John Collins led Utah with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Collin Sexton added 29 points for the Jazz, who lost their eighth straight game. Kris Dunn finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Utah had chances to snap its skid, but ultimately couldn’t overcome multiple careless possessions at critical junctures.
“They got 11 more shots than we did, plus shooting nine more free throws than we did, so we lost the possession battle by a pretty big number tonight,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "We’ve got to continue to take care of the ball.”
The Rockets trailed the entire first half but swung momentum their way during a third-quarter scoring outburst from Green.
Green had five of Houston’s first six baskets of the second half to power a 20-7 run that put the Rockets up 61-54 midway through the third quarter. He scored 20 of his team’s 28 points in the quarter.
“We came out running plays for me at the beginning of the third,” Green said. “I was just taking what the defense gives me and shots were falling.”
Utah surged back in front behind a 16-2 run. Sexton fueled the run with a 360-degree dunk and punctuated it with a finger-roll layup that put the Jazz up 74-69.
Houston pulled ahead for good when Green tipped in a layup and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 14-3 run. Green’s second 3 gave the Rockets a 92-85 lead with 3:45 left.
Utah cut the deficit to one with 1:21 remaining on a turnaround jumper from Johnny Juzang. VanVleet banked in a pullup jumper and Green hit two free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory.
Green has finished with 30 or more points five times in his last eight games.
“He’s been carrying us pretty much since the All-Star break,” VanVleet said. “We trust him and want to keep giving him the ball in his spots and letting him create. He can get hot.”
Houston sputtered to a season-low 13 points in the first quarter while shooting just 21% from the field over that stretch.
Collins and Sexton combined for six baskets and 21 of Utah’s first 23 points to help the Jazz overcome an 0-of-10 start from 3-point range and take advantage of the Rockets’ early struggles. Their production helped Utah carry a 23-13 lead into the second quarter.
Utah led by 13 points in the first half, going up 39-26 on a pair of 3-pointers from Collins. The Rockets closed the gap before halftime when Smith capped a string of three consecutive Houston baskets with a dunk to make it 43-39.
“It was a little rough around the edges with some attention to detail, but I thought we competed for 48 minutes,” Collins said.
UP NEXT
Rockets: hosts Dallas on Sunday.
Jazz: At Sacramento on Sunday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Jabari Smith Jr. vs. John Collins (Keyonte George gains possession) | ||
| 11:39 | | Brice Sensabaugh misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:35 | | Collin Sexton offensive rebound | ||
| 11:32 | | +2 | Collin Sexton makes two point driving finger roll layup | 0-2 |
| 11:06 |  | Fred VanVleet misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 11:04 | | Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound | ||
| 10:49 | | Taylor Hendricks misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:46 | | Jalen Green defensive rebound | ||
| 10:39 | | Jabari Smith Jr. misses two point layup | ||
| 10:33 | | Dillon Brooks offensive rebound | ||
| 10:33 | | +2 | Dillon Brooks makes two point putback layup | 2-2 |
| 10:21 | | Collin Sexton misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:15 | | John Collins offensive rebound | ||
| 10:15 | | +2 | John Collins makes two point tip layup | 2-4 |
| 9:56 | | Jabari Smith Jr. misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:54 | | John Collins defensive rebound | ||
| 9:38 | | Brice Sensabaugh misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:35 | | Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 9:30 | | Fred VanVleet misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 9:28 | | Amen Thompson offensive rebound | ||
| 9:23 | | Jalen Green misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 9:21 | | Keyonte George defensive rebound | ||
| 9:14 | | +2 | Collin Sexton makes two point driving finger roll layup (Keyonte George assists) | 2-6 |
| 8:59 | | Taylor Hendricks shooting foul (Jalen Green draws the foul) | ||
| 8:59 | | Jalen Green misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 8:59 | | Rockets offensive rebound | ||
| 8:59 | | Jalen Green misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 8:57 | | John Collins defensive rebound | ||
| 8:36 | | Keyonte George misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 8:34 | | Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 8:24 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point driving layup (Fred VanVleet assists) | 4-6 |
| 8:13 | | +2 | Collin Sexton makes two point driving floating jump shot | 4-8 |
| 8:13 | | Jabari Smith Jr. shooting foul (Collin Sexton draws the foul) | ||
| 8:13 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 4-9 |
| 8:03 | | Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:59 | | John Collins defensive rebound | ||
| 7:54 | | Keyonte George misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 7:51 | | Amen Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 7:36 | | Collin Sexton blocks Dillon Brooks's two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 7:34 | | Dillon Brooks offensive rebound | ||
| 7:30 | | Dillon Brooks misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:26 | | Amen Thompson offensive rebound | ||
| 7:26 | | Amen Thompson misses two point tip layup | ||
| 7:26 | | John Collins defensive rebound | ||
| 7:20 | | Keyonte George misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:19 | | Fred VanVleet defensive rebound | ||
| 7:14 | | Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 7:10 | | John Collins defensive rebound | ||
| 7:03 | | +2 | John Collins makes two point driving layup (Keyonte George assists) | 4-11 |
| 7:03 | | Dillon Brooks shooting foul (John Collins draws the foul) | ||
| 7:03 | | +1 | John Collins makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 4-12 |
| 6:50 | | +3 | Jabari Smith Jr. makes three point jump shot (Jalen Green assists) | 7-12 |
| 6:35 | | Collin Sexton misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:32 | | Brice Sensabaugh offensive rebound | ||
| 6:30 | | Brice Sensabaugh misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:26 | | Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 6:22 | | +3 | Dillon Brooks makes three point running jump shot (Jabari Smith Jr. assists) | 10-12 |
| 6:21 | | Jazz 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:00 | | Jalen Green shooting foul (John Collins draws the foul) | ||
| 6:00 | | +1 | John Collins makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 10-13 |
| 6:00 | | +1 | John Collins makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 10-14 |
| 5:50 | | Collin Sexton blocks Jabari Smith Jr.'s two point cutting layup | ||
| 5:47 | | Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound | ||
| 5:41 | | Taylor Hendricks misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:38 | | Jalen Green defensive rebound | ||
| 5:33 | | +2 | Amen Thompson makes two point running layup (Jalen Green assists) | 12-14 |
| 5:11 | | Brice Sensabaugh misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 5:08 | | Fred VanVleet defensive rebound | ||
| 5:04 | | Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:01 | | Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound | ||
| 4:39 | | Collin Sexton misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 4:35 | | Dillon Brooks defensive rebound | ||
| 4:28 | | Jalen Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:25 | | Amen Thompson offensive rebound | ||
| 4:23 | | Dillon Brooks offensive foul (Charge) (Keyonte George draws the foul) | ||
| 4:23 | | Dillon Brooks turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 4:14 | | Kris Dunn misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:13 | | Jazz offensive rebound | ||
| 4:13 | | Jock Landale personal foul (Loose ball) (John Collins draws the foul) | ||
| 4:04 | | Taylor Hendricks misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 4:00 | | Jae'Sean Tate defensive rebound | ||
| 3:47 | | John Collins shooting foul (Jae'Sean Tate draws the foul) | ||
| 3:47 | | +1 | Jae'Sean Tate makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-14 |
| 3:47 | | Jae'Sean Tate misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 3:45 | | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 3:31 | | +3 | John Collins makes three point jump shot (Collin Sexton assists) | 13-17 |
| 3:10 | | Keyonte George personal foul (Jock Landale draws the foul) | ||
| 3:06 | | Fred VanVleet misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:02 | | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 2:41 | | +2 | Kris Dunn makes two point fadeaway bank jump shot | 13-19 |
| 2:25 | | Jalen Green misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 2:21 | | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 2:09 | | Collin Sexton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:06 | | Jock Landale defensive rebound | ||
| 1:53 | | Kris Dunn blocks Jock Landale's two point cutting layup | ||
| 1:52 | | John Collins defensive rebound | ||
| 1:52 | | Fred VanVleet personal foul (Collin Sexton draws the foul) | ||
| 1:52 | | Rockets 60 second timeout | ||
| 1:52 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-20 |
| 1:52 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-21 |
| 1:34 | | Aaron Holiday turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | ||
| 1:24 | | Aaron Holiday shooting foul (Collin Sexton draws the foul) | ||
| 1:24 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-22 |
| 1:24 | | +1 | Collin Sexton makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-23 |
| 1:07 | | Jock Landale misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:06 | | Rockets offensive rebound | ||
| 1:06 | | Collin Sexton personal foul (Loose ball) (Jabari Smith Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 0:55 | | Jalen Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:52 | | Walker Kessler defensive rebound | ||
| 0:41 | | Keyonte George misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 0:38 | | Walker Kessler offensive rebound | ||
| 0:38 | | Walker Kessler misses two point tip layup | ||
| 0:36 | | Micah Potter offensive rebound | ||
| 0:36 | | Micah Potter misses two point putback layup | ||
| 0:34 | | Jeff Green defensive rebound | ||
| 0:30 | | Aaron Holiday misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 0:27 | | Micah Potter defensive rebound | ||
| 0:07 | | Collin Sexton turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:44 | | Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:40 | | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 11:28 | | Johnny Juzang misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:25 | | Reggie Bullock Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 11:20 | | Jeff Green misses two point running layup | ||
| 11:20 | | Amen Thompson offensive rebound | ||
| 11:20 | | +2 | Amen Thompson makes two point tip layup | 15-23 |
| 11:20 | | Keyonte George shooting foul (Amen Thompson draws the foul) | ||
| 11:20 | | +1 | Amen Thompson makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 16-23 |
| 11:01 | | +2 | Keyonte George makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 16-25 |
| 10:41 | | Fred VanVleet misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:39 | | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 10:29 | | +3 | Kris Dunn makes three point stepback jump shot | 16-28 |
| 10:13 | | +3 | Jabari Smith Jr. makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 19-28 |
| 9:52 | | Keyonte George misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:50 | | Amen Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 9:41 | | +3 | Jabari Smith Jr. makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 22-28 |
| 9:29 | | Keyonte George turnover (traveling) | ||
| 9:16 | | Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:14 | | Johnny Juzang defensive rebound | ||
| 9:08 | | Kris Dunn turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | ||
| 8:56 | | Jeff Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:52 | | Walker Kessler defensive rebound | ||
| 8:35 | | Collin Sexton misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:29 | | Amen Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 8:26 | | Amen Thompson misses two point running layup | ||
| 8:24 | | Walker Kessler defensive rebound | ||
| 8:08 | | Fred VanVleet blocks Collin Sexton's two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 8:07 | | Collin Sexton offensive rebound | ||
| 8:07 | | Walker Kessler turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 7:56 | | Fred VanVleet misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:54 | | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 7:46 | | +2 | Kris Dunn makes two point pullup jump shot | 22-30 |
| 7:32 | | Reggie Bullock Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:29 | | Walker Kessler defensive rebound | ||
| 7:17 | | Micah Potter misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:13 | | Jeff Green defensive rebound | ||
| 7:10 | | Kris Dunn blocks Amen Thompson's two point running layup | ||
| 7:10 | | Rockets offensive rebound | ||
| 7:08 | | Amen Thompson misses two point jump shot | ||
| 7:06 | | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 6:52 | | Fred VanVleet blocks Collin Sexton's two point driving layup | ||
| 6:52 | | Jazz offensive rebound | ||
| 6:52 | | Jazz 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:49 | | Fred VanVleet personal foul (Walker Kessler draws the foul) | ||
| 6:40 | | +2 | Collin Sexton makes two point driving floating jump shot | 22-32 |
| 6:25 | | +2 | Amen Thompson makes two point driving layup | 24-32 |
| 6:10 | | Fred VanVleet blocks Collin Sexton's two point driving layup | ||
| 6:07 | | Jock Landale defensive rebound | ||
| 6:03 | | Jock Landale offensive foul (Collin Sexton draws the foul) | ||
| 6:03 |