by Kimya Oliver
The Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets 132-127 in an overtime thriller.
Donovan Mitchell drove to the basket for the layup to start the offense. The Jazz opened the first quarter on a 14-9 run.
Off a bad pass, Mitchell stole the ball and went coast to coast to keep the Jazz in the lead. The first quarter ended with the Jazz leading 25-20.
The Rockets started the second quarter strong by tying the score at 27-27 just two minutes into the quarter.
Jordan Clarkson pulled up from deep to gain offensive momentum. The Rockets were not letting up as they continued to have an answer for everything the Jazz threw at them.
With a dish from Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic pulled up from deep. The Jazz managed to gain an 18 point lead with three minutes left in the first half. The second quarter ended with the Jazz holding onto a 66-53 lead.
Rudy Gobert grabbed the offensive rebound and made the putback layup to open the third quarter. The Jazz continued to hold a double-digit advantage over the Rockets the entire quarter and ended the third leading 93-83.
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Rocket Garrison Matthews was hit with a technical foul to open the fourth quarter to send Rudy Gay to the charity stripe. The Jazz opened the quarter on an 11-7 run.
The Rockets gained offensive momentum to close the gap to one possession with one minute to go.
Christian Wood found Kevin Porter Jr. in the lane for the driving layup to tie the score with 30 seconds left in the ball game.
Mitchell dished the ball to Mike Conley for the shot beyond the arc, leaving 8.3 seconds left in the ball game. Porter Jr. found Wood open for the three-point shot that drained as time ran out to tie the score at 117-117.
The Jazz opened the overtime quarter but could not score for the first two of five minutes. This allowed the Rockets to take a four-point lead.
With two minutes to go, Conley pulled up from deep to give the Jazz a 126-124 lead.
The Jazz continued to hit from beyond the arc and secured the lead with five seconds left. They avoided another upset loss to the Rockets
The Daily Double-Double
Mitchell finished with 37 points and ten assists. Gobert ended with a double-double with 27 points and 17 rebounds. Thus, the Jazz earned a Double Jeopardy round of double-doubles.
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The Jazz will be facing the New Orleans Pelicans on March 4, 2022 at 6 p.m. MST.
Featured image courtesy David J. Phillip, AP