NBA: Surging Jazz beat sliding Rockets in overtime
Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz reacts to a play during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on January 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images/AFP
Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 37 points, Rudy Gobert added his 38th double-double and the Utah Jazz earned a 132-127 overtime road win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Mitchell added 10 assists and three steals while Gobert chipped in 27 points and 17 rebounds for the Jazz, who won for the ninth time in 10 games. However, it was Mike Conley who drilled three critical 3-pointers for Utah, including two in overtime, and scored 12 of his 15 points over the final 5:08.
The Rockets, who dropped their 11th consecutive game, forced overtime when Christian Wood (24 points, 10 rebounds) drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end regulation.
Houston trailed by 18 points in the second quarter and by 14 in the fourth, but Wood delivered a trey and a driving layup to help the Rockets close to within 113-111 with 1:43 to go.
🕷 @Spidadmitchell was HOOPING, dropping 22 PTS in the first-half on his way to 37 PTS and a season-high 10 assists! #TakeNote
37 PTS | 10 AST | 3 STL | 4 3PM pic.twitter.com/GaiNxDkSMy
— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2022
Kevin Porter Jr. (16 points, 12 assists) added a layup out of a timeout to knot the score with 30.1 seconds left. The Wood buzzer-beater answered a corner 3-pointer from Conley off a Mitchell drive and assist.
Rookie Jalen Green led the Rockets with 27 points while Kenyon Martin Jr. scored 20 off the bench. Houston led by four in overtime before Conley caught fire.
Mitchell sizzled early, scoring 13 first-quarter points on 5-for-8 shooting while the mere presence of Gobert in the paint prevented the Rockets from even daring to attack the rim at the onset.
Houston mustered just four points in the paint in the opening period and closed the quarter having launched 12 of 18 field-goal attempts from behind the arc. But after trailing by as many as eight points in the first frame, the Rockets took a 35-34 lead when Green followed his 3-pointer with a ferocious dunk that came with Gobert trailing the play.
The Jazz called a timeout and then went on a 19-3 run that featured seven points and three assists from Mitchell. Utah knocked down two 3-pointers during the rally and Mitchell added a three-point play before converting a Hassan Whiteside steal into a transition layup and a 53-38 lead.
Utah pushed to an 62-44 advantage before leading 66-53 at the break.
