• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Rockets-Jazz Preview

Jan 3, 2016 - 6:37 PM A tight victory over San Antonio on Christmas Day seemed to send a signal that the Houston Rockets had righted the ship after a disappointing start.

The rematch four games later has left the Rockets in another tailspin.

Houston obviously still has major work to do on defense and will try to again get things moving in the right direction when it visits the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

Following a 5-10 start during which coach Kevin McHale was fired, the Rockets won 10 of 15 entering their holiday matchup at home against the first-place Spurs.

The result was their finest defensive performance of the season in an 88-84 win that got them above .500 at 16-15. It's the only time they've won without scoring 100 points and one of only two opponents they've held under 90.

"We're more than capable," James Harden said that day. "We've got to find that energy, that consistent defensive togetherness every single night."

Coming off the high of beating the NBA's best defensive team with defense despite ranking 26th in the league at 106.2 points allowed per game, the Rockets have failed to find the energy Harden mentioned during a subsequent four-game losing streak.

Houston's defense has been completely absent during the skid, surrendering 116.5 points per game, allowing three of those opponents to shoot better than 50 percent and two to finish above 54 percent from 3-point range.

One of those occasions came Saturday against San Antonio, which shot 52.3 percent overall and went 13 of 24 from 3-point range in a 121-103 win that matched Houston's season high for points allowed four days after Atlanta set it. The fact that Tim Duncan went scoreless for the first time in his 19-year career didn't even matter.

"It's just tough, man," Harden told the team's official website. "We're in a tough position right now. We'll keep continuing to fight. We're just not doing it consistent."

When asked how the Rockets can find that consistency, Harden was at a loss.

"That's a good question. ... If we had the answer, we'd be doing it."

There were some positives for Houston, which became only the second team to shoot 50 percent in San Antonio and scored 16 more points than the Spurs had been allowing at home. Thirteen missed free throws and being outscored 36-17 in the third were the keys.

The Jazz (15-17) may not pose the same threat on offense as San Antonio, but their stout defense has been on display during a 3-1 span and will try to quiet a Rockets offense that has still averaged 109 points on the losing streak.

Utah ranks fifth in the league at 96.9 points allowed per game - the only NBA team in the top 10 with a losing record - and was even better against Memphis on Saturday, allowing just 84 in regulation of a 92-87 overtime victory.

Rodney Hood scored a career-best 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting and hit five 3-pointers for the Jazz. After a 1-for-13 night at Minnesota on Wednesday, he's totaled 40 points and gone 9 of 17 from long range in wins over Portland and the Grizzlies.

"It's hard to put behind you because you're not used to shooting like that," he said. "But games like that happen. ... Just to have this type of game means a lot. You trust your work and it just comes out like that."

Utah kept Houston in check during a 109-91 win March 12 in the most recent meeting in Salt Lake City but has lost eight of the last 10 overall.