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 The Rockets (18-19) scored 64 second-half points while shooting 65.7
percent from the floor to erase what was once a seven-point deficit.
Houston produced 12 fast-break points following the intermission, 10
in the third quarter, to set the pace.
"I think we were playing for the most part pretty well defensively,
offensively we were too slow," Harden said of the first half. "We
wanted to put an emphasis on pushing the basketball, getting stops
and just running out."
With the Jazz (15-20) fighting to remain in contention, Harden
drilled a step-back elbow jumper with 2:46 remaining before adding a
driving layup with 1:51 left to keep the advantage at 96-90.
He finished 13-for-25 from the floor despite missing all seven of
his three-point attempts.
Terrence Jones chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while Jason
Terry and Marcus Thornton scored 12 points apiece off the Houston
bench.
Harden added eight rebounds and two of the Rockets' 11 steals.
Houston scored 16 points off 19 Utah turnovers.
"When you turn a team over you've got to take advantage of it,"
interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said "You've got to get out on the
floor. You've got to push.
"In the second half ... we committed to that and it was effective."
Gordon Hayward paced the Jazz with 15 points, while Trevor Booker
(12), Chris Johnson (11) and Trey Burke (10) scored in double
figures off the bench. Utah dropped their third consecutive game and
second to Houston this week.
HOOD INJURY
The Rockets perked up when Jazz guard Rodney Hood was lost to an
ankle injury with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter.
Hood paced Utah with 10 points at the point of his departure, and
the Jazz led 48-46 after Harden scored a transition layup with Hood
writhing on the floor in pain.
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The Rockets posted 33 points in the third quarter after scoring just
39 in the first half. Harden poured in 16 in the period and assisted
Trevor Ariza for a three-pointer after recording a block as the lone
defender during a three-on-one break for the Jazz.
Ariza pushed the Rockets to a 57-55 lead with 5:33 left in the
period, an advantage Houston did not relinquish in the fourth
quarter.
The third quarter marked a departure from the Rockets'
second-quarter woes. Houston missed 17 of 24 shots in the second
period and closed the half 1 for 10 from behind the arc.
And while Utah stood at a deficit in paint points and failed to
score in transition by the break, the Rockets' errant shooting
helped the Jazz to a 44-39 halftime lead.
"I thought it was a hell of an effort by us," Hayward said. "We
competed through all the circumstances. Rodney going down, losing
another key guy, and we're still battling and still in the game at
the end."
Utah center Rudy Gobert, making his first appearance following an
18-game injury hiatus, provided an immediate boost during his five
minutes in the first quarter when the Jazz outscored Houston by 10
with Gobert on the floor. Houston led 10-2 before surrendering an
11-1 run.
"This game was just to see how I was feeling," said Gobert, who had
six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes while playing with a
bulky brace on his left knee. "I feel great, and I'm not tired at
all. Next game I'm probably going to play double the minutes."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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