A pair of Western Conference teams take the floor looking to pick up some ground in the playoff picture do battle in the Lone Star State. The Utah Jazz are on the road as they travel to face the Houston Rockets Saturday night. Utah comes in off a 134-129 home loss to the Thunder Thursday night, failing to cover the line as a three-point underdog in their previous game. Houston was dropped 109-94 on the road by the Knicks Wednesday night in their previous contest, failing to cover the line as a seven-point underdog. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Jazz own a 114-100 advantage and took the last two meetings. That includes a 131-114 road victory in their previous matchup on January 5, 2023.
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Utah saw their six-game win streak snapped as they were outgunned at home by the Thunder Thursday night. The Jazz entered Friday 22-21 on the season and stood fourth in the Northwest Division, nine games behind the Timberwolves for the top spot. They were ninth in the Western Conference, 2.5 games behind the Mavericks for the final guaranteed playoff spot and 1.5 games ahead of the Rockets to remain in the play-in tournament field. Against Oklahoma City, Utah was down as many as 17 in the opening quarter and by 12 after one. The Jazz closed within three in the second quarter and trailed by nine at the half before tying the game with just over three minutes to play in the third quarter. Utah trailed by three after three quarters but couldn’t get any closer than that down the stretch. The Jazz shot 48.3% from the field, including 13 of 32 from beyond the arc, but allowed the Thunder to shoot 55.8% in the contest. Collin Sexton led Utah with 31 points and seven assists in the loss.
Collin: 31p | 7a | 1r | 1s | 4 3PM
Lauri: 26p | 10r | 4a | 1s
John: 21p | 4r | 1a | 1b
Jordan: 18p | 5a | 2r
Simone: 12p | 5r | 2a | 1s
Walker: 7p | 11r | 1a | 1s | 3b#TakeNote | @LVT_USA pic.twitter.com/wr4yCLtl4Q— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 19, 2024
The Jazz comes into this contest 11th in the league in scoring offense with 117.1 points per game this season. Utah is 2nd in rebounding by pulling down 46.4 boards per night while standing 7th by dishing out 28.1 assists a night. The Jazz are 23rd in the league in scoring defense as they allow 118.5 points per contest. Lauri Markkanen leads the Jazz as he puts up 24.1 points plus 8.8 rebounds per contest. Jordan Clarkson (17.9 points, 5.2 assists), John Collins (13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds) and Collin Sexton (17.2 points) are capable scoring options. Walker Kessler, Talen Horton-Tucker (11 points, 4.2 assists), Simone Fontecchio, Keyonte George (11.1 points, 4.4 assists), Kris Dunn and Ochai Agbaji are important pieces for coach Will Hardy. Utah is shooting 46.8% from the field, which is 18th in the league in field goal percentage. The Jazz knock down an average of 13.2 triples per game, which is 13th in the league, and stand 22nd in three-point field goal percentage by knocking down 35.7% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Utah has no injuries to report entering Friday so they should have their full complement of a roster here.
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