Rockets vs. Jazz recap: James Harden looks flawless in blowout victory

James Harden and the Houston Rockets put some “jazz” on Utah in a 137-110 home win.

The Houston Rockets (8-3) defeated the 3rd best-rated defense to start this season in the Utah Jazz (5-5).

After back-to-back blowout wins, the Rockets got a performance that only James Harden could deliver. A masterful display indeed.

Let’s examine the stats:

The Stats:

James Harden: 56 points, 13 assists, 7/8 3-point shooting

Eric Gordon: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists

Trevor Ariza: 14 points, 4/8 3-point shooting

While the team looked great tonight, its all about “the Beard.” Overall, Harden looked unstoppable against the Jazz. Indeed, his night began as perfect as it possibly could. With 22 points in the 1st quarter alone, Harden finished the quarter a perfect 8/8 from the field. After all of that, the lead ballooned to 32 at one point for the Rockets.

Defensively, the Rockets looked solid. The on-ball defense and the man-to-man defense was spectacular. Alongside Harden was Eric Gordon. EG delivered another great performance and has looked locked in since taking over in the starting lineup. Since the Chris Paul injury, Gordon has been delivering on a consistent basis on both ends of the floor. As a team, the Rockets got 9 steals and 7 blocks on the night.

Here are some of the evening’s highlights:

Clint Capela vs. Rudy Gobert

Unfortunately, Gobert had a rough night. Capela had no mercy.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/927347535093649408

Meanwhile, James Harden was on fire from the start

Harden came to play tonight. And he didn’t miss a lot.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/927334891817263104

Overall, the night belonged to James Harden

How good was Harden tonight? His 56 points are a career high and he nearly broke Calvin Murphy’s franchise record of 57 points in a game.

Additional Notes

While the career-high in points was great, equally as impressive was Harden’s 13 assists on the night. Another player that has picked it up is Nene. In addition to his 13 points, he also provided 4 rebounds and some solid interior defense.

Also, a player that has stepped up is Trevor Ariza. With his 3-point shot falling, the Rockets as a team are shooting much better from downtown. Tonight alone, the team shot 23/39 from deep, or 59% from behind the arc.

Finally, the Rockets displayed just how tough they are to beat when firing on all cylinders. Solid defense, efficient shooting & good pace led to a great team victory. Alongside a Hall of Fame performance from a man who looks like he’s headed down a hall of fame career.

Next: Ex-Rockets guard Isaiah Taylor plays well vs. former team

Next up is the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, November 9th. The Cavs will come into town after a rough start to their season so far. The game will be nationally televised on TNT at 7:00 pm central time.

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