by Daniel Olsen
For most of the game, the Jazz looked like the dominant team. While there was a stretch where the Jazz saw a 23 point lead diminish to single digits in the fourth quarter, they kept pushing and ended the night with a 114-99 victory over the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets have now lost 15 straight games. It is the longest losing streak for them since they did the same in 2001. This is the first time this month that they have been held to under 100 points in the month of March. They did manage just 85 points in a loss to the Grizzlies at the end of February.
It was the first time this month that the Jazz have played at home and it showed. The Jazz sported their Earned Edition jerseys with a light green body and gold trim. Donovan Mitchell helped earn the win with 28 points. He also chipped in eight assists and seven rebounds. The play of the game was when he put his defender in the spin cycle then gave it to Royce O’Neale for the left corner three.
Joining Mitchell in the 20 point club was reigning All-Star Mike Conley. He also had four assists, three rebounds and a steal. The only thing that was worrisome was the turnovers in the backcourt as Mitchell and Conley combined for seven giveaways. The Jazz need to protect the ball more to avoid any scares to perceived weaker teams. This is the NBA so there is talent all around. The Jazz need to be smart in case they catch a cold shooting spell.
Rudy Gobert was back and ready to rumble after the All-Star break. He easily notched another double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He also had a mammoth six blocks on the night. That’s just the third time this season he’s reached that total in a game this season. For his all-around performance, Gobert deserves the game ball.
The Jazz will get a day off before taking the flight to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The game will be broadcast at 2 PM on NBATV.
Game notes
• The Jazz are 4-0 against teams from the Lone Star State this season. They are messing with Texas.
• The Jazz starting backcourt of Conley and Mitchell combined for 48 points. The four starters for Houston not named Kevin Porter combined for 43 points.
• With 63 straight games of at least one made three-pointer, Jordan Clarkson is tied for the sixteenth longest streak of all time.
• The Jazz scored less points with each passing quarter. The last time they had this similar trend was against the Warriors in a 127-108 January win.
• The Jazz had a better three-point efficiency at 37.5 percent than the Rockets had from the entire field at 36.9 percent.
• Mitchell is averaging 27 points-per-game in March so far. He averaged slightly less in February at 26.8.
• The Jazz made 84 percent of their free throws. Only O’Neale and Conley were perfect from the line with a combined 3-3.
Featured image courtesy AP Photo