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From John Stockton's buzzer-beating 3 to Carlos Boozer's 35-point Game 7, the Utah Jazz have enjoyed some big moments in Clutch City.

And they sure could use some of that kind of magic on Wednesday night.

No, perhaps this meeting with James Harden and the Houston Rockets cannot rival the rivalry's battles of yesteryear, but when the Jazz tip off against James Harden and company it will be arguably their most important game in three seasons. Because if this generation of Jazzmen want to start making their own postseason memories, winning a late March matchup with the conference foe just ahead of them in the standings would be a good way to start.

"It's big," Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood said. "We understand it's a big game."

After splitting a pair of road games over the weekend, the Jazz (34-36) returned home to Salt Lake City for a quick breath of mountain air before heading back out on the road for three more games. Next week they'll face the daunting task of visiting Oklahoma City and a more favorable trip to Minneapolis. But right now, their sights are rightfully set on the seventh-place Rockets.

"This is new territory for us, being in this situation," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of his team's push for the postseason. "I think it requires even more focus on our part."

The Jazz dropped their first two games of the season with the Rockets before earning a hard-fought overtime victory last month at Vivint Arena — a win that came despite several officiating errors late in the game at the Jazz's expense. A win on Wednesday would even the season series at two games apiece, though Utah's conference record (18-22) would still lag behind Houston's (24-20) giving the Rockets the edge for the coveted tiebreaker. Nevertheless, the chance to make up a full game on Houston (or conversely to lose a full game) should provide the Jazz with all the motivation they need with just three weeks left in the season.

"We're all fighting for the same spot, the same position," forward Derrick Favors said.

The Jazz's last trip to Houston ended in disappointment and a 103-94 loss as Harden poured in a game-high 33 points. But the Jazz will be encouraged by a couple of things heading into Wednesday's rematch: firstly, that game was center Rudy Gobert's first game back from injury and his minutes were heavily restricted and, secondly, the Jazz were actually leading late in the game when Hood had to leave with an ankle injury.

This time around, the Jazz are as close to full health as they may be for the rest of the season. The Rockets, meanwhile, will be playing the second game of a back-to-back, having squared off with Kevin Durant and the Thunder on Tuesday night.

"We can play with them," Hood said. "It's not like last year where we went into Houston thinking we're going to get beat. We can play with those guys. They're a very a talented, veteran group so we have to be on our P's and Q's. [But] I think we can play with anybody."

Twitter: @tribjazz