Rockets 104 - 93 Jazz
Final
  for this game

Rockets topple Jazz, move to 2-0

Oct 30, 2014 - 5:51 AM

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Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Dwight Howard scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and two blocks to lead the Houston Rockets to a 104-93 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

James Harden nearly contributed a triple-double, scoring 18 with 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Trevor Ariza finished with 20 points in the win.

"Second half we did a great job of coming out with some defensive intensity," Harden said.

Houston, which opened the season with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, opened 2-0 for the third straight season.

Alec Burks led the Jazz with 18 points, while Derrick Favors deposited 16 points with seven rebounds and Trey Burke added 15 points in the setback.

"I think we played good as a team, we missed a lot of open shots that we normally make," Favors said.

Dante Exum, the No. 5 overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, totaled five points with an assist and a steal in just under 10 minutes of action for Utah.

The Jazz, who have lost six of their last seven against the Rockets, played tough in Quin Snyder's debut as head coach for the club.

The Rockets built a 75-62 lead late in the third, but Burke scored six points as part of a 10-0 run to close the frame.

The two teams traded a pair of buckets in the opening minutes of the fourth, then Houston put the game away with a 14-1 run. Harden opened the sequence with a pair of free throws and Terrence Jones followed with a 3-pointer to make it 84-76 with 8:48 to play.

Patrick Beverley capped the surge with a layup, and Utah only got as close as nine down the stretch.

The teams were tied at 27-27 through the first quarter, but the Rockets ended the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 58-50 lead into the locker room.

Game Notes

Houston rookie Kostas Papanikolaou scored all 12 of his points in the first half ... Utah scored 21 points off of 18 Houston turnovers ... Trevor Booker scored 14 points off the bench for the Jazz ... The Rockets went 14-for-27 from beyond the arc, while Utah made 3-of-18 shots from deep ... The Jazz outscored the visitors, 62-44, in the paint.






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