Harden drops 42 as Jazz drop Rockets in overtime

The Jazz moved ahead of the Rockets in the Western Conference with a 117-114 victory on Tuesday. The Rockets were shell-shocked out of the gate allowing the Jazz to put up 34 first quarter points. They had a chance with a Jason Terry three-ball hitting both sides of the rim before bouncing out.

James Harden (42) led the way for the Rockets, who have only won one of their past five games.

While the Jazz got it done to jump Houston on a packed ladder they also have a DeMarcus Cousins inspired Sacramento charging after them as Cousins scored more than 30 for the 53rd time in his career. Burke checked in with 11:25 left in the second quarter.

With Harden sitting, the Rockets went ice cold and lost the momentum that he had built before going to the bench. After the timeout, coach J.B. Bickerstaff designed a handsome play, getting Harden a layup on a cut to the basket as Ariza found him with the pass to bring the Rockets to within one. Mack scored a season-high 17 points. “Whenever you play a team that you are matched up with, those are important games”.

Bickerstaff following the game was at a loss on the rebounding with the smaller group. “We don’t talk about it as a team, but I’m sure everybody individually knows what we’re fighting for and who we’re fighting against”.

Houston’s Patrick Beverley is many things, and one of those things is an elite irritant. Having a power forward won’t fix everything, but it increases the odds that they will get a crucial rebound.

Hayward returned to action after being poked in the eye in the fourth quarter.

The last time Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack played together in the Utah Jazz’s arena, the then-fresh-faced college kids led an underdog Butler team to an Elite Eight win over a higher-seeded Iowa State squad in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. During the game, the Rockets’ two stars ended up having a bit of miscommunication with each other. Harden, Howard and Ariza gave their all and it still wasn’t enough.

Hayward hit his second, but left Utah up only three instead of the game-clinching four.