SALT LAKE CITY — The last time Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack played together in the Utah Jazz’s arena, the then-fresh-faced college kids led an underdog Butler team to an Elite Eight win over a higher-seeded Iowa State squad in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Six years later, the Butler buddies paired up and played key roles in another fun win.
The stage certainly wasn’t as big for the Jazz on Tuesday night at Vivint Arena as it was when the Bulldogs advanced to the Final Four in this building.
But it was an important win nonetheless for the reunited teammates.
Hayward amassed 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Mack made his home debut and first start in a Utah uniform and several other teammates offered up key contributions in a 117-114 overtime win over the Houston Rockets.
The Jazz, now 28-28, leapfrogged the Rockets, who dropped to 28-29, for the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff standings with less than two months remaining in the regular season.
Utah had lost in three of four outings after its seven-game winning streak and had dropped its first two matchups with Houston this season, so this was a big February victory.
It did have some ugly aspects, though, including how the Jazz melted down in the fourth quarter, blew an 11-point lead, turned the ball over 22 times for 29 Houston points and allowed James Harden to go off for 42 points.
On the bright side, the Jazz won for just the third time in 23 games when an opponent scored more than 100 points and Utah improved to 9-12 in games decided by five or fewer points.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder liked how his team had to dig in and show resiliency against a dysfunctional but talented Rockets team.
“You have to learn how to play through mistakes,” Snyder said. “You have to learn toughness and you have to learn how to win.”
While Utah had the upper hand with the lead and possessions in the final minute of regulation and the entire overtime session, the Rockets made them earn this one.
Guard Jason Terry hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining in regulation after Utah had taken a 98-92 lead.
The Jazz had a chance to win late in the fourth quarter, but Hayward was harassed by Houston’s Trevor Ariza and ended up badly missing a half-court heave at the buzzer.
Utah couldn’t put the Rockets away in overtime, but the home team took an early lead on a Rodney Hood bucket and never fell behind in the extra session.
Hood hit a big 3 with 52 seconds remaining to put the Jazz ahead for good. Though they didn’t relinquish that advantage, there was still some basketball drama in the final moments.
Derrick Favors, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds, made a critical putback bucket after fighting for possession with 11.8 seconds after Harden trimmed the Jazz’s lead to one.
The Rockets then misfired on two game-tying 3-point attempts, with Ariza and Terry both missing in the last two seconds.
“This was not like a real pretty game by any means, but it’s a game that we won,” Snyder said. “We got a group that’s learning how to do that.”
Incredibly, Hayward finished with his big scoring night despite only shooting seven field goals (and hitting six). He was 13 for 15 from the foul line (though both misses opened the door for the Rockets late in the game) and drained three of four 3-pointers.
Favors had his double-double while also battling most of the night against Rockets center Dwight Howard (13 points, 16 rebounds) as Jazz big Rudy Gobert had an uncharacteristically off night. The Stifle Tower, who didn’t play in crunch time of regulation or OT, finished with only two points, three rebounds and zero blocked shots.
Hood fired in 18 points, including big 3s at the end of regulation and overtime. Mack finished with 15 points and two assists but also had seven turnovers, and backup point guard Trey Burke fired in three 3s and scored 15 points.
“To have multiple guys be able to make plays was really important,” Snyder said. “It wasn’t pretty all the time offensively, but when we didn’t turn it over we were able to make things happen. It makes the game hard when there’s that much pressure.”
The Jazz were especially sloppy with the ball in the first half when they committed 16 turnovers for 23 Houston points.
Snyder opted to replace rookie Raul Neto in the starting lineup with Mack, who had 16 points and six assists in a well-played game at Portland in his debut Sunday. Mack's inclusion in the first five marked the 11th different starting group the Jazz have used this season.
Despite the turnovers, Mack seemed to run the new offense nicely and contributed to the victory. The fifth-year guard was acquired by Utah from Atlanta in exchange for a second-round pick in a three-way trade last Thursday.
“I thought he was aggressive. I thought he had a number of really good passes early in the game that we didn’t handle that would’ve been buckets,” Snyder said. “I think our players have confidence in him even though it’s been a short stay. We needed everybody tonight.”
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