This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
James Harden scored 25 points and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 125-80 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Randy Foye led the Jazz with 12 points and Al Jefferson added 10, but Utah had a six-game homecourt winning streak snapped.
Looking for the 10th win in the last 13 games, the Jazz started miserably.
Utah converted only two of its first 10 possessions and Houston made seven of its first nine shots while building a 15-6 lead.
Derrick Favors and Jefferson led the Jazz back and it was 22-22 with 1:22 left in the opening quarter. But the Rockets reeled off six quick points, including two after a turnover by Alec Burks with only six seconds left.
Leading 28-22, Houston extended its lead to 34-26 early in the second quarter on a pair of three-pointers by Carlos Delfino.
The Rockets eventually built a 55-34 lead with 1:25 left in the half before settling for an 18-point advantage.
Harden scored 18 points in the first half, including 12 in the final 6:45. Randy Foye topped Utah, which shot 35.7 percent, with 10.
Midway through the third quarter, the Rockets broke away with an 11-2 run, which gave them a 70-43 lead.
From there, Houston cruised to its fourth win in five games and pulled into a virtual tie for seventh place with Utah in the overall Western Conference standings.
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