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Rockets rally past Jazz 116-111

Utah drops third straight at home and loses for the sixth time in its last seven games.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) looks to the coaching staff during a timeout as the Utah Jazz host the Houston Rockets at Vivint Arena, Jan. 18, 2022.

Garrison Mathews scored 23 points, including five 3-pointers, to send the Houston Rockets to a 116-111 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at Vivint Arena.

Jae’sean Tate chipped in with 18 points and Eric Gordon scored 16. Kevin Porter Jr. had 15 points and eight assists, while Christian Wood added 13 points and 16 rebounds.

The Rockets won for the third time in four games after shooting 22 of 45 from 3-point range.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points to lead Utah. Rudy Gobert had 23 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Clarkson finished with 19 points and Mike Conley added 17.

The Jazz lost their third straight home game and are 1-6 in their last seven overall despite outscoring Houston 62-36 in the paint.

Utah trailed the entire fourth quarter but pulled to 111-109 on a pair of free throws from Bogdanovic with 42.4 seconds left. Porter answered with a 3 on the other end to seal a comeback win for Houston.

Houston went 7 of 12 from 3-point range during the first quarter to carve out a 36-27 lead. Mathews hit back-to-back 3s and drained three free throws to bookend a 13-7 run that put the Rockets up nine.

Clarkson scored three baskets and made a pair of free throws to spark an 18-5 run that gave Utah a 55-51 lead late in the second quarter. The Jazz grabbed the lead on back-to-back baskets from Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale.

Utah totaled 35 points in the second quarter while shooting 14 of 22 from the field.

The Jazz led by 13 in the third before Houston erased the deficit with a 18-1 spurt. Armoni Brooks punctuated the run with three 3-pointers over four possessions, giving the Rockets an 80-76 lead.

TIP-INS

Rockets: Porter had six assists in the first quarter — one more than Utah totaled as a team during the same stretch. ... Wood beat the third-quarter buzzer with a go-ahead 40-foot 3-pointer.

Jazz: Donovan Mitchell (concussion) and Rudy Gay (right heel soreness) did not play. ... Udoka Azubuike had a career-high two blocks in the first half. Azubuike entered with six blocks over 21 games in his NBA career. ... O’Neale grabbed seven of his team-high 15 rebounds in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Rockets: At the Golden State Warriors on Friday.

Jazz: Host the Detroit Pistons on Friday.