Eric Gordon scored a career-high 50 points, Danuel House Jr. chipped in a double-double, and the short-handed Houston Rockets pulled off a stunning 126-117 victory over the red-hot Utah Jazz on Monday in Salt Lake City.
With James Harden (thigh), Russell Westbrook (rest) and Clint Capela (heel) all unavailable for the second game of a back-to-back set at altitude, Gordon carried Houston with a scintillating performance.
The veteran guard shot 14 of 22 from the floor, drilled 6 of 11 3-point attempts and hit 16 of 20 free throws to lead the way. His three-point play through a Rudy Gobert foul extended the Houston lead to 118-105 with 1:39 remaining and snuffed out the final hope Utah had at capping a comeback.
House was nearly as instrumental, pairing 21 points with 11 rebounds while adding five steals. His dunk of an offensive rebound off Austin Rivers' errant 3-point attempt helped the Rockets maintain a 12-point cushion with 2:35 left after the Jazz worked frantically to cut what had been a 17-point deficit.
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 36 points while Bojan Bogdanovic added 30 while making seven 3-pointers. The Jazz had won 14 of their previous 15 games.
Rivers added 21 points for Houston while Gobert posted 12 points and 14 rebounds for Utah.
Gordon and House anchored a strong shooting start for the Rockets, posting nine points apiece in the opening quarter while Houston shot 47.6 percent overall.
However, after the Rockets carried a 28-20 lead into the second quarter, the Jazz began that period with a 13-2 run that featured seven points from Mitchell. Conley lifted Utah to a 33-30 lead at the 8:43 mark, but the Rockets did not wilt, with Gordon again stepping forward to shoulder the offensive load for Houston.
Gordon tallied 15 points in the period, leading Houston to a 59-46 lead by the intermission. Mitchell countered with 17 points by the break and seemingly fashioned a reply whenever Gordon and Houston threatened to pull away.
--Field Level Media
