Jazz 103 - 91 Rockets
Final
  for this game

Hayward leads Jazz over Rockets

Apr 12, 2012 - 5:06 AM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Gordon Hayward netted a season-high 29 points as the Utah Jazz got a much-needed 103-91 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Paul Millsap filled the stat sheet with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals and Derrick Favors had a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards off the bench for the Jazz, who have won two in a row and three of four.

"I told the guys, 'You should enjoy this one,' because they really laid it out on the line," Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin said.

Goran Dragic paced the Rockets with 19 points and Kyle Lowry contributed 15 in defeat. Houston saw a four-game winning streak snapped.

With Houston's loss and Denver's win later Wednesday, there is now a three-way tie for sixth place in the Western Conference. Utah sits 1 1/2 games behind the group, which includes Dallas, for the final playoff spot in the West.

A hard-fought first quarter saw its third tie with 1:06 left, after which Utah rolled off a 13-1 run spanning two periods to take a 38-26 advantage. Hayward drained a triple during the rally and Millsap capped it off with three straight jumpers.

Houston answered with an immediate 10-0 spurt of its own, making it a two- point game, but could not get over the hump. The Jazz scored seven of the next nine to create some space.

The Rockets did mount a charge in the fourth. Down 85-72, Patrick Patterson hit a jumper to spur an 8-0 run, and Lowry's trey a bit later trimmed the deficit to 87-83.

But Favors made 1-of-2 from the line before Hayward scored the game's next five points himself to restore Utah's double-digit advantage.

"They just outplayed us," Rockets forward Luis Scola said. "We were trying to get back all game long, and we did eventually get back, down to four, but they played better and they get [the lead] back to 10 again, and the game was over."

The Jazz shot almost 58 percent from the floor in the first half and led 56-46 at intermission.

Game Notes

Utah was without Jeremy Evans, who sat with a sprained right ankle...The largest lead for the Jazz was 18...Utah shot 51.3 percent (40-of-78) for the game while holding Houston to a 35.6 percent (31-of-87) clip.






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