These 8 teams own the head-to-head records over the Houston Rockets

3 of 5

Karl Malone (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images) /

6. Utah Jazz – 48.0 W%, 98-106 record

This one is tough to swallow given the bitter rivalry between the two franchises, but the Utah Jazz own the regular-season series over Houston. The two first met in 1974 when the Jazz were in New Orleans.

The Jazz have had the biggest advantage in the series, owning a 97-79 head-to-head lead after a November 2012 victory. Since then, the Rockets have gone 19-9 against Utah, which included a four-game series sweep in the 2017-18 season.

This season, the Rockets took two of three against the Jazz, including a dominant 126-117 win in Utah in which Eric Gordon poured in a career-high 50 points.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1222018307961905152?s=20

Their one loss was a heart-breaking, last-second defeat at the hands of a Bojan Bogdanovic buzzer beater in February.

Related Story. How Eric Gordon sent the Utah Jazz into a tailspin

While the Jazz currently own the regular-season record over Houston, at least the Rockets can bank on their recent playoff success over them. Houston has knocked Utah out of the playoffs in five games in each of the last two seasons.

Bradely Beal James Harden (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

5. Washington Wizards – 47.4 W%, 72-80 record

When I saw the Washington Wizards so high on this list, I was as surprised as you probably are right now. This number, however, is a bit misleading. Essentially, the San Diego Rockets put the franchise in such a huge hole against Washington that even their current 72-80 record is a miracle.

In 1967, the Baltimore Bullets took on the San Diego Rockets for the first time, defeating them 125-109. It was the first of 10 straight victories over the Rockets to start the season series and it would only get worse from there.

Baltimore won 22 of its first 23 matchups with San Diego and was 22-2 over them before they moved to Houston in 1971. Since then, the Houston Rockets have a 70-58 advantage over the franchise that eventually became the Washington Wizards.

Most recently, the two teams matched up for one of the most offensively entertaining, yet defensively-lacking games in NBA history, as the Rockets overcame the Wizards 159-158 behind 59 points from James Harden.

Houston was set to take on Washington one more time this season on April 10th, but time will tell if that ends up still happening.

Next: No. 4 & 3

Home/Rockets News