Whether you like it or not, the Jazz lost their original Western Powerhouse status during Gobert's withdrawal from the game when the league triggered the anti-epidemic agreement. Yes, they even suffered a wave of 5 consecutive losses before, falling in front of chicken rib teams like the Raptors Pistons. However, with Gobert's recent return, the Jazz have ended the losing streak and maintained the fourth place in the West. Perhaps, after this experience, no one will question Gobert's big $205 million contract.
However, in this game, the Jazz were challenged by the Houston Rockets at home, and with the absence of the team's star Mitchell, they were also bullied by the Rockets. At the beginning of the game, the away Rockets took the lead in getting into the form and achieved the feat of domination. Jeshawn Tate delivered eight points and two rebounds in a single quarter, and Matthews, who came off the bench, also contributed nine points to help the team play a 36-27 single quarter and take a nine-point lead. But after the preconceived notions at the beginning, the Rockets, who entered the second quarter of the showdown, still encountered a counterattack from the Jazz.
The Jazz played a state of full strength, and with a single quarter of 35-21, not only recovered the 9 points behind in the first quarter, but also achieved a 5-point rebound with a halftime score of 62-57. The situation was finally reversed, but the Jazz, who fought again, did not extend the lead further, but encountered a strong counterattack from the Rockets. In the third quarter of the competition, Wood played a full 12 minutes of game time, sent 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block data, helped the team play a 26-19 score, chased back the 5 points behind in the first half, and achieved a 2-point reversal!
The difference between the two teams is not very large, but the Rockets eventually regained the initiative to lead the score, and have a good chance of winning the game. And things went very smoothly, without Mitchell, an unreasonable point guard, the Rockets continued to maintain a score lead in the crucial final quarter game, constantly consuming the rest of the game time. At the end of the regular quarter, the Rockets scored 116-111 and won the final victory of the game, completing the feat of upset counterattack!
Looking back at the game, the overall state of the Jazz team is not too bad, and there have been 5 players who have scored in double digits. Mitchell was sidelined due to injury, Bojan also had 29 points and five rebounds, and Gobert also contributed 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists. There was also Conley, who delivered 17 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and Clarkson, who came off the bench and delivered 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. However, compared to the state of the jazz side, the rocket side of the players are obviously better.
They also had five players who scored in double digits, Wood even handed over a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Matthews, who delivered a team-high score of 23 points on the bench. It is undeniable that the victory of this game can not be separated from the Rockets' unimaginable outside three-point output: 22 of 45 three-pointers in a single game, shooting 48.9%, effectively helping the team to establish a score-leading advantage. And the losing draft Matthews was able to hand over the team's highest score of 23 points, precisely because of the huge role played by the five three-pointers in a single game.
In fact, this isn't the first time Matthews has ridden a savior alone! As early as the course of his debut in December, Matthews had shown his personal ability to walk alone. And this amazing performance undoubtedly made the team's management have a deeper understanding of him. If nothing else, he will also be a non-seller in the rebuilding process of the team.