Jazz-Rockets Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Feb 18 2012 7:31PM

The Houston Rockets were dominated by their last opponent's big men. They could face a similar challenge against the Utah Jazz.

The Rockets will try to win their third straight against the visiting Jazz on Sunday night.

Houston has struggled with consistency recently, losing three of four. Two of the defeats came to teams with losing records, including a 111-98 loss to Minnesota on Friday.

After surprising Western Conference-leader Oklahoma City with 96-95 win on Wednesday, the Rockets (17-14) had no answers for Minnesota's Kevin Love or Nikola Pekovic. Both players had double-doubles, combining for 63 points and 29 rebounds.

Houston gave up a season-high 64 points in the paint and was outrebounded 44-26 - its fewest rebounds of the season.

"They just kicked our tail," coach Kevin McHale said. "They just rolled us down, got inside of us. We didn't have contact with them - they just beat us up. Bottom line."

Leading scorer Kevin Martin also struggled. He finished with 16 points, but shot 4 of 11 and is averaging 12.0 points while shooting 38.6 percent the last nine games.

Houston didn't receive much help from its own big man in Luis Scola, who scored 10 points while playing a season-low 22 minutes. He didn't play any better against Marc Gasol and Memphis on Tuesday, totaling nine points and five rebounds.

The Rockets will face another challenge Sunday trying to contain Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. Millsap in particular has played well against Houston, recording four consecutive double-doubles while averaging 27.3 points the last three meetings.

Jefferson and Millsap are both coming off good individual performances. Each had a double-double in Utah's 114-100 victory over Washington on Friday when Jefferson scored a season-high 34 points and had 12 rebounds while Millsap finished 14 and 12, respectively.

The Jazz (15-14) had lost four of six before Friday, averaging 89.5 points over those six games. However, taking advantage of one of the NBA's worst teams, they scored 62 first-half points Friday and shot 52.8 percent overall.

Jefferson, who scored 29 points the previous two games, nearly surpassed that total in the first half Friday with 26 on 12-of-15 shooting.

"We didn't have any fight against him in the first half," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "He did whatever he wanted with the ball. And we didn't really seem to let it bother us."

The Jazz will try to carry over the performance to their next contest, but they haven't won consecutive games since Jan. 28 and 30. They also haven't played well on the road, going 3-9 while dropping six of their last seven away from home.

"We have to focus," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "Continue to work. We have to make sure we understand why were good tonight and it's because we did a great job on the defensive end of the floor."

Despite strong performances by Millsap, Martin has led the Rockets to back-to-back wins over the Jazz. He has three 30-point performances in his last six games against the Jazz, averaging 28.2 points.

Houston beats Utah 101-85

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Posted Feb 19 2012 11:02PM

HOUSTON (AP) With each 3-pointer Kyle Lowry hit on Sunday night, his confidence grew.

By the fourth quarter, he felt as if he'd make any shot he took.

And he almost did.

Lowry made seven of eight 3-pointers and scored 32 points and Luis Scola had 26 and the Houston Rockets fought off a late run from the Utah Jazz and went on to a 101-85 win.

Utah cut Houston's double-digit lead to just two points with a big fourth quarter run, before an 8-2 spurt by the Rockets stretched their lead to 88-80 with four minutes left.

Lowry started Houston's game-clinching run when he scored Houston's first points in almost four minutes with a 3-pointer and Courtney Lee hit a 3 as he was knocked to the ground on a foul by CJ Miles. Lee was unable to complete the rare four-point play when his free throw attempt rattled off the rim.

"I hit my first couple and kind of got going," Lowry said. "When you have one of those rhythms and your legs are feeling good and you're just confident in your shot, I feel I can make it anywhere, anytime, anyplace."

Lee hoped some of Lowry's hot shooting would transfer to him.

"I didn't have the shooting touch, Kyle had the shooting touch. I shook his hand when I checked in and it kind of rubbed off on me," joked Lee, who was two of three from 3-point range.

Devin Harris made a pair of free throws for Utah after that. But Houston scored eight straight points, with six from Scola, to extend the lead to 96-82 two minutes later to secure the win.

"Our guys were really in tune," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We really have to be in tune. We can't just walk out there and act like we don't know what we're doing. We have to show up there with an edge."

Al Jefferson, who was coming off a season-high 34-point performance on Friday, led the Jazz with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He had a pain in his stomach that sent him to the bench at the end of the game, but said afterwards that he was OK.

"I was very disappointed in our play and my own play," he said. "We have to do a better job."

The Rockets were up by 13 points with nine minutes remaining before Utah used an 11-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Raja Bell, to get within 80-78 with 5:45 left. Paul Millsap had two baskets and four free throws for Utah's other points in that span.

"We got it down to two points in the fourth, then we didn't make shots ... and things got away from us," Jazz coach Ty Corbin said. "We just didn't have enough to finish."

Lowry's 32 points were one point shy of his season high of 33. His seven 3s ties a career high, he was 7 of 7 on free throws and had nine assists as the Rockets improved to 2-1 on what will be a six-game homestand.

Samuel Dalembert wowed the crowd with a pair of dunks. The second one came on an alley-oop from Lowry that capped an 11-5 run that broke a tie and left the Rockets ahead 69-63 with about a minute left in the third quarter.

Harris had turnovers on consecutive plays to slow the Jazz at the start of that run.

Derrick Favors hit one of two free throws for the Jazz before Lee knocked down a 3-pointer on the other end to stretch Houston's lead to 72-64 entering the fourth quarter.

Millsap added 22 points for Utah and Bell had 11.

Lowry made all of the five shots he attempted in the first half, including four 3-pointers. He was also perfect from the free throw line, making each of his four first-half attempts.

The 6-foot Lowry missed his first shot of the second half on an attempt under the basket against two much bigger defenders, but quickly got back on track with his next shot. He was fouled as he made a jump shot and completed the 3-point play to leave the Rockets up 54-50 with 9 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Jazz led 46-45 at halftime.

Houston's Greg Smith made his NBA debut on Sunday after being recalled from Rio Grande Valley of the D-League earlier in the day. He had four blocks, three rebounds and two points, but also picked up five fouls in less than 12 minutes.

NOTES: Smith was recalled from the D-League after F Jordan Hill injured his right knee in practice on Saturday. Hill is expected to be out at least two weeks. ... Rockets C Hasheem Thabeet did not dress for Sunday's game because of a sore lower back. ... The Jazz shot 39.5 percent on Sunday to improve the Rockets record to 6-0 this season when they limit teams to less than 40 percent shooting.

Notebook: Rockets 101, Jazz 85

Posted Sunday February 19, 2012 10:46PM

Matt Miller, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Utah Jazz spent most of the first half bullying the Houston Rockets in the same manner that the Minnesota Timberwolves did Friday. Then, for the first time in nearly a game and a half, the Rockets took a stand and displayed defensive strength in the paint.

Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 32 points on 9-for-13 shooting and dished out nine assists, and Luis Scola added 26 points and nine rebounds as Houston clamped down on the defensive end in the second half to roll past the Jazz, 101-85, on Sunday at Toyota Center.

Al Jefferson posted his fourth double-double in the last five games, finishing with 23 points and 11 boards to pace Utah's attack. Paul Millsap poured in 22 points and collected three steals.

The Jazz (15-15), who lost for the sixth time in eight games and fell to 3-10 on the road this season, shot a dismal 27.8 percent and scored only eight points in the paint during the second half. The Rockets (18-14), winners of two of their last three, shot a scorching 63.6 percent after the break.

QUOTABLE: "We've got to show up and play with an edge. ... This game isn't about schemes. This game is about going out there and knocking your guy out of the paint and just trying to be aggressive."
-- Houston head coach Kevin McHale.

THE STAT: After allowing the Jazz to score 26 of their first 38 points in the paint, Houston played with toughness on the interior and limited Utah to only 10 points in the paint for the rest of the game.

TURNING POINT: After the Rockets ripped off a 15-5 run to take an 80-68 lead with 9:03 left in the fourth quarter, Utah responded with a 10-0 spurt to climb within two points with less than six minutes remaining. After a timeout, Houston ran a play that opened up Lowry for a 3, which he buried to ignite a 16-4 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes. The Rockets' advantage never dipped below double digits after that.

QUOTABLE II: "We knew coming in how important this game was, and we played like we didn't want it. ... We got to play like we want to be a playoff team."
-- Jefferson.

HOT: Lowry has struggled with his shot for the last month but found a rhythm from the perimeter Sunday, making seven of eight 3-point attempts. Lowry also drained all seven of his free-throw attempts and penetrated deep into the Jazz defense to set up buckets for his teammates on numerous occasions in the second half.

QUOTABLE III: "That's the best way I've played in a long time. I hit my first couple [of 3s] and kind of got rolling. ... I felt like I could make it anywhere, any time, any place."
-- Lowry on his hot hand from long distance.

NOT: After shooting 48.9 percent (22-for-45) from the field in the first half, the Jazz failed to generate the same close-shot opportunities in the third and fourth quarters. Utah made just 27.8 percent (10-for-36) of its field-goal attempts after halftime to finish 39.5 percent (32-for-81) for the game.

GOOD MOVE: The Rockets' decision to recall rookie Greg Smith from the D-League to fill in for the injured Jordan Hill (knee) worked about as well as they, realistically, could have imagined. Smith made mistakes that are typical of players in their NBA debut, but his energy and athleticism on the defensive end helped him protect the rim with four blocks. The rookie also used his big body to set hard screens that freed Scola for a few wide-open mid-range jumpers.

BAD MOVE: Houston leading scorer Kevin Martin has been a Jazz killer in the past, averaging 28.2 points over his previous six meetings with the Jazz before Sunday. But Martin's teammates failed to get him involved in the offense often enough for him to make a huge impact, as the 6-foot-7 guard finished with only 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting in more than 39 minutes on the court.

NOTABLE: McHale made a late change to his starting five, inserting second-year post player Patrick Patterson in place of Samuel Dalembert. Dalembert played close to 18 minutes off the bench, while Patterson logged more than 27 minutes. ... Hill (sprained right knee) is expected to miss at least two weeks after suffering a knee injury in practice Saturday. ... Jazz guard Raja Bell tweaked his groin and said after the game that he is uncertain about the true extent of the injury. ... Bell has hit at least one 3-pointer in 18 consecutive games, which is currently the second-longest streak in the NBA. ... Aside from Lowry, Houston shot 3-for-11 from beyond the arc. ... The Rockets improved to 4-0 this season when they hit at least 50 percent of their field-goal attempts and 6-0 when their opponent shoots worse than 40 percent overall. ... Houston is now 11-0 when limiting opponents to less than 90 points. ... The Rockets won for only the second time in 12 games when trailing at halftime. ... Utah fell to 0-4 in the first game of back-to-back sets that begin on the road. ... Lowry's seven treys matched his career high.

UP NEXT: For the Jazz, Monday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday @ Minnesota, Feb. 28 @ Sacramento. For the Rockets, Monday vs. Memphis, Wednesday vs. Philadelphia, Feb. 28 vs. Toronto.

• Jazz: Carroll
• Rockets: Hill, Morris

• Jazz: --
• Rockets: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 12

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #30 John Goble, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 16764
• Duration: 2:04