Rockets entertain Jazz in Space City

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets return home with a two-game winning streak Saturday night when they welcome the Utah Jazz to the Toyota Center.

The Rockets went 2-1 on a recent road trip. It started with a loss in Chicago, but they rebounded with victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.

On Thursday, the Rockets demolished the Knicks, 120-96.

James Harden totaled 25 points and nine assists to lead a balanced Houston attack.

All five starters reached double figures for Houston, which has dominated the Knicks in recent years. The Rockets have won 11 straight against New York and are 19-1 in the last 20 meetings.

Dwight Howard posted his fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Trevor Ariza scored 18 points, Donatas Motiejunas had 17 with seven rebounds and four steals and Patrick Beverley added 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.

Jason Terry chipped in 14 points off the bench and Corey Brewer managed 11 for a Rockets' team which shot 53.2 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from long range.

"Just happy we got the win," said Howard. "New York has been struggling a little bit, but we wanted to come out and take care of business early and try to put them away."

The Jazz will put the finishing touches on a three-game road trip Saturday and were beaten by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 99-94, Friday night. Kevin Durant scored 10 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead OKC, while Gordon Hayward paced the guests with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting.

Derrick Favors posted 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Trey Burke scored 20 points for the Jazz, who were coming off Wednesday's 97-77 victory over the Chicago Bulls in the opener of the swing.

Utah, which shot a decent 48.6 percent, had only eight men available and committed 20 turnovers.

"I'm proud of our team, I thought we didn't make anything easy for them," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.

Favors is averaging 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds in his last 11 games. In his past 12 contests, Hayward is scoring at a 20.3 ppg clip.

The Jazz are 7-13 on the road and will play back-to-back home games next versus Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Rockets beat the Jazz, 104-93, in Salt Lake City on Oct. 29. They've won two straight and six of their last seven against Utah, including three in a row in Houston.