Hayward’s Perfect Night Sinks Houston Rockets in OT – Player Grades

With the eighth seed up for grabs the Houston Rockets faced the Utah Jazz desperate for a road win, but lost in overtime.

The game against the Jazz began the same way Rockets’ fans have unfortunately become accustomed to this season, with Houston making tons of mistakes, not taking care of the ball and committing a lot of silly turnovers. The Jazz took advantage early and managed to mount a small lead, mostly due to Gordon Hayward’s three-point shooting.

Despite Utah’s early lead, Quinn Snyder’s side just wasn’t able to build up on it, mostly due to their own turnovers.

Both teams kept playing really bad basketball, giving up easy possessions, committing fouls, missing easy layups, etc. Sometimes it even felt as if the Rockets were playing the Grizzlies. In all reality it was a really ugly game until the fourth quarter when the game got some traction.

In the end, led by Gordon Hayward and fueled by performances from the recent acquired Shelvin Mack and bench asset Trey Burke the Jazz took the lead.

And, if not for a clutch three-point shot by veteran Jason Terry the Jazz could have taken the game in regulation. In overtime it was time for Rodney Hood to seal the deal for the Jazz. That’s what happens when your head coach knows how to use their bench, folks!

Here’s the player grades for the night:

Rockets Player Grades

Best Reserve

Best Opponent:

Next: Daily Rocket Power Forward Edition

Space City Scoop is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. Currently we’re looking for individuals with a specialized focus. The first area of focus is perfect for someone who is constantly surfing the web for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info etc. This individual would select the top news items and provide timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.

The other area of focus is someone who possesses a strong social media background who likes to interact with Clutch City Fans. You’ll promote SCS team content on facebook and twitter while also making sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. If you have this capability and are interested check out this link and fill out an application.