The Utah Jazz took a tough loss on Sunday night, falling by a final score of 90-122 to the Houston Rockets. They were dismantled defensively by James Harden, who scored 29 points and distributed 10 assists.
Jazz forward Derrick Favors gave his thoughts on the beatdown, and analyzed what went wrong.
“We started to turn the ball over a little bit, and that messed us up,” Favors said, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “And then they went down on the other end and were hitting shots, so they got into a rhythm. That’s when the game started to get out of hand for us. We missed a couple of shots that we normally make, out on the 3-point line, and up by the rim. Make a couple more baskets, be more patient, and who knows what can happen for us.”
Favors added that they missed shots that they normally make. However, he advised his teammates to remain patient despite the early hiccup to their postseason run.
“We missed a couple shots that we normally make, out on the 3-point line, and up by the rim. Make a couple more baskets, be more patient, and who knows what can happen for us.”
Derrick Favors is correct in his assessment. When playing a team like the Rockets, you simply can't afford sloppy turnovers. Houston is too good offensively and in transition, and turnovers often lead to Harden lay-ups, Clint Capela lobs, or open 3-pointers.
The Jazz kept it relatively close for the first half and entered the fourth quarter down 12 points. But the game slipped out of hand in the fourth quarter, and the Rockets' lead ballooned to 32 by the end.
If the Jazz can slow down the game, they have a shot at stealing a game from Houston and taking homecourt advantage. But if the game starts speeding up, we will likely see the series go back to Utah with the Jazz facing a daunting 0-2 deficit.
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