This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In the NBA, nine days can make a big difference in the outlook of an individual team.

A little less than two weeks ago, the Utah Jazz suffered a blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets, their fourth straight defeat. They looked tired. They looked beaten. They looked like a team needing answers.

Fast forward to Tuesday night's 120-101 win over the Houston Rockets, before a sellout crowd at Vivint Smart Home Arena. It's the fourth consecutive victory for a team that not long ago looked to be in a lot of trouble. The Jazz looked fresh, despite playing their second game in as many nights in as many states. Their defense looked dominant, the offense was crisp and lethal. Playing against a Houston team that has one of the best offenses in the NBA, the Jazz hardly missed a step. They led by as many as 23 points, surrendering the lead only once early in the game, and the outcome was never in doubt.

"We feel like we're hitting our stride," Utah center Rudy Gobert said. "We got a lot of open shots and we moved the ball very well. We defended against one of the best offenses. When we play like this, we can be tough to beat."

What's changed with this team? Point guard George Hill returning to health is one key. With him and Gordon Hayward together in the starting lineup, Utah is 5-0 on the season.

Gobert is another big reason. The big man is playing the best basketball of his professional career. He had 16 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots against Houston. He shut down the paint, and was a nuisance rebounding the ball all night for the Rockets, who didn't have any answers for him.

With those three rolling, and Rodney Hood scoring 19 points in 20 minutes, the Jazz ran out to a 38-29 lead after the first quarter, and provided themselves a working margin for the remainder of the night. Hood leaving the game in the third quarter with a strained hamstring proved to be the lone hiccup for a Utah team that improved its record to 11-8 on the season. Even without Hood, the Jazz had enough throughout the roster to register another relatively easy win.

"Especially tonight, this was a game we won on the defensive end," Hayward said. "We played well against James Harden, and we forced him into tough midrange shots. We didn't give much to anyone else, and this is a team that can really score the ball. We guarded, and we executed defensively, and that's why we won this game."

Hayward led the Jazz with 31 points, adding seven assists and five rebounds. He was efficient, going 8 of 16 from the field, and hit 12 of his 13 free throws. The opposite was true for Harden. The Rockets star scored 26 points to go along with seven assists. But he went 8 of 23 from the field, and didn't have nearly the space to work with offensively as he did in the teams' earlier matchup this season.

As good as Utah was defensively, the Jazz were almost as good offensively, a big reason why the game turned into a rout. Their point total represents a season-high. They went 15 of 28 from 3-point range, and shot 55 percent from the field overall. Utah turned the ball over eight times, and shot 85 percent from the free-throw line.

"We made shots tonight," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "Sometimes, it's as simple as that."

The Rockets led 16-9 midway through the first quarter, and the Jazz took control with a 20-5 run, culminating with a 3-pointer from Hood. Trey Lyles scored 13 points and Joe Johnson scored 11 to spearhead a nice effort from Utah's bench.

Twitter: @tribjazz —

Storylines

R Gordon Hayward scores a season-high 31 points to lead the Jazz.

• Utah wins its season-high fourth in a row.

• The Jazz score 38 points in the first quarter and 35 points in the fourth quarter.