SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and the Utah Jazz opened the second half of the season by beating the…
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and the Utah Jazz opened the second half of the season by beating the Houston Rockets 114-99 on Friday night. Playing for the first time since March 3, the NBA leaders handed the Rockets their 15th straight loss. Mike Conley added 20 points and Rudy Gobert had 14 points,13 rebounds and six blocks as the Jazz got back on track after dropping their final two games of the first half. Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson each scored 15 but the Jazz needed a late run to close out the Rockets. Kevin Porter Jr. scored a season-high 27 points for Houston. He was 1 of 9 from 3-point range and 11 of 25 overall. Sterling Brown and Kenyon Martin Jr. each had 15 points. The Rockets’ slump is their longest since losing 15 straight in 2001. Houston’s last win came Feb.4 against Memphis. After losing three of four games before the All-Star break, the Jazz were looking to recapture the form that won them 22 of 24 games and vaulted them to the top of the NBA standings. The short-handed Rockets had just nine healthy players — most of whom had been at the end of the bench or out of the league this year — but the Jazz still looked disjointed and rusty at times.
