Entering the final stretch of the 2025-2026 season, there was never a question whether the Rockets should win against a young, inexperienced, and oft injured Utah Jazz. The question was, can the Rockets get up big and be able to rest their key players in the 4th quarter, rather than let yet another inferior team hang around and threaten to steal a game the Rockets should win? Thankfully for the hometown faithful, the answer to that question is yes.
After knotting the game up at 11 in the first quarter,
the Rockets would go on a 23-11 run and never look back. The Rockets flexed their muscle over the Jazz shooting 55.4 percent for the game, including 46.9 percent from the three-point line. With 30 assists and just 10 turnovers the Rockets were able to avoid a let down late in the game.
Six players scored in double-figures with Kevin Durant leading the way with 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Alperen Sengun scored 19 points, also shooting 8-of-12 from the field. Amen Thompson chipped in with 21 points, 8 rebounds and Reed Sheppard had another quality game at starting point guard with 12 points, 7 assists and shooting 4-of-8 from the arc. Jabari Smith and Tari Eason scored 18 points and 16 points respectively.
Now that the Rockets have clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference, the bar is obviously set higher than winning what was really a meaningless game to the Jazz, who organizationally had more incentive to lose than win. However a five-game win streak with just five games left on the schedule is nothing to shake a stick at. The Rockets can’t really afford to try and play the matchup game headed into the postseason. They need to win as many games as possible and be playing their best brand of basketball of the season if they hope to make any type of deep run. Other than perhaps health, that will be the most important thing moving forward.
The Rockets get to experience a playoff atmosphere in San Francisco as their next game will be against the Warriors with Stephen Curry returning to the lineup hoping to help his team clinch a play-in spot. The game starts at 9:00 PM CST and as always we will have all the coverage yo need right here on TDS.
