NBA

Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz

· National Basketball Association
13-4, 8-2 Away
Final
129 - 101

6-13, 5-6 Home

Houston Rockets dominate Utah Jazz for fifth straight road victory

Alperen Sengun finishes with sweet and-1 play for Rockets

Alperen Sengun had 27 points to help the Rockets win their fifth straight road victory. Steven Adams chipped in 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and Amen Thompson had nine assists.

Houston’s defensive pressure led to the Rockets forcing 17 turnovers and scoring 22 points off those takeaways. The Rockets outscored Utah 21-8 in fastbreak points.

Ace Bailey led the Jazz with 19 points. Lauri Markkanen added 18 points and eight rebounds. Jusuf Nurkic totaled 14 points, nine assists, and six boards.

The Rockets held Keyonte George scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting. George also committed eight turnovers.

Houston held the Jazz to a single basket for a 6 ½ minute stretch in the first quarter, opening the door for the Rockets to go on a 19-4 run and stake out a 30-16 lead. Kevin Durant scored a basket, assisted another, and had three steals to fuel the spurt.

Utah drew as close as eight points in the second quarter, cutting Houston’s lead to 39-31 after Bailey tipped in a layup. The Rockets pulled away again behind a 16-2 run. Durant made back-to-back baskets to cap the run that put Houston up 55-33.

Houston extended its lead to 98-64 late in the third quarter following a 24-3 run sparked by back-to-back baskets from Durant and Sengun. The Jazz went six minutes without scoring a point during the run.

Up Next Rockets and Jazz play each other again in Salt Lake City on Monday night.

Regular Season Series

HOU leads series 1-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 129 - 101
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 129 - 101
4th 7.3 Kyle Anderson makes 23-foot three pointer (Walter Clayton Jr. assists) 129 - 101
4th 14.8 shot clock turnover 129 - 98
4th 38.8 Kyle Filipowski makes 5-foot dunk (Walter Clayton Jr. assists) 129 - 98

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/utah.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUTAH
46-87 FG 39-88
53 Field Goal % 44
11-31 3PT 9-32
35 Three Point % 28
26-33 FT 14-15
79 Free Throw % 93
50 Rebounds 33
15 Offensive Rebounds 9
35 Defensive Rebounds 24
30 Assists 32
14 Steals 8
7 Blocks 4
14 Turnovers 17
2 Team Turnovers 0
16 Total Turnovers 17
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
22 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 22
21 Fast Break Points 8
56 Points in Paint 52
18 Fouls 23
37 Largest Lead 3
Utah Jazz Utah Jazz Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Georges Niang, F Out Dec 15
Walker Kessler, C Out Nov 5
Houston Rockets Houston Rockets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Fred VanVleet, G Out Sep 22

Game Information

Delta Center

Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Attendance: 18,186 · Capacity:

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
San Antonio 23 7 .767 - W8
Houston 18 10 .643 4 W1
Memphis 14 16 .467 9 W1
Dallas 12 20 .375 12 L1
New Orleans 8 23 .258 15.5 L1

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Oklahoma City 26 5 .839 - L2
Denver 22 8 .733 3.5 W1
Minnesota 20 11 .645 6 L1
Portland 12 18 .400 13.5 L2
Utah 10 19 .345 15 L4
Full Standings

NBA News

Perk points finger at JJ Redick for Lakers' defensive woes

Perk points finger at JJ Redick for Lakers' defensive woes

Kendrick Perkins and Monica McNutt discuss the recent issues with the Lakers.

Perk: Spurs are making the Thunder look soft

Perk: Spurs are making the Thunder look soft

Kendrick Perkins explains why the Thunder have struggled against the Spurs' size.

Perk: Jokic is the most-skilled center ever

Perk: Jokic is the most-skilled center ever

Kendrick Perkins joins "Get Up" to break down Nikola Jokic's historic 56-point triple-double on Christmas Day.

NBA Christmas games: What should give 10 teams title hope, concerns

NBA Christmas games: What should give 10 teams title hope, concerns

ESPN analyst Zach Kram picks two stats for the teams that played on Dec. 25, and breaks down why fans should be happy and worried about their title aspirations.

Jokic scores record 18 in OT, has 56-point triple-double in Nuggets win

Jokic scores record 18 in OT, has 56-point triple-double in Nuggets win

Nikola Jokic recorded a 56-point triple-double and set an NBA record with 18 points in overtime, leading the Nuggets to a 142-138 win over the Timberwolves.