Jazz go cold again in blowout loss to Rockets

Unfortunately for the Utah Jazz fans who braved the colder temperatures to get to the Delta Center on Sunday afternoon, the team seemed to take the wrong inspiration from the first snow flurries of the season.

There were no shooting flurries, there was no ice in the Jazz players’ veins. Instead, the Jazz were just cold. They moved slow, missed layups, and finished the day shooting just 28.1% from 3-point range, including Lauri Markkanen, Brice Sensabaugh, Svi Mykailiuk and Kyle Filipowski combining to go 3-of-19 from deep.

The Houston Rockets had no problem racing out to a 129-101 blowout win, paced by Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant, who scored 27 and 25 points, respectively. Though disappointed, Jazz head coach Will Hardy didn’t have much to say to his team in the locker room after the game was over.

“We didn’t talk much,” Markkanen said of the post-game scene. “I think everybody knows what went wrong. It was just really bad first half to start and then obviously it was just a really tough night, just flat...Everybody’s just disappointed in the effort and nothing really went our way. So, not much to say. I feel like everybody needs to look in the mirror, kind of use this night to self reflect.”

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Even Keyonte George, who is having a bit of a breakout season, went scoreless for the first time since his rookie season, while committing eight turnovers.

The Jazz would have plenty of built-in excuses if they wanted. George was questionable heading into Sunday’s matchup because of illness, which has been going around the team. The Jazz were playing without Kevin Love, who was resting the first night of a back-to-back set and has been a stabilizing force for the team lately. The game was unusually early, tipping off just after 1 p.m. MST, throwing off the usual game-day routine for everyone.

But the Jazz were not having any of that.

“We just lost the plot,” George said. “There are days in the league where some people might get their head punched in. I think we just lost the plot — everybody, top to bottom, including myself. The best thing about the NBA is we get to play the same team tomorrow and get to fix all the mistakes that we all made today."

George is right that the Jazz will have the opportunity to defend their honor against Houston again on Monday night, but the Rockets are a formidable team with a 13-4 record (third in the Western Conference). They have an incredible blend of experience and youth, are defensively sound and look built for the playoffs.

So, there’s not a lot of expectation for the Jazz to bounce back and get an unlikely win over the Rockets. But there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the Jazz can at least put up more of a fight.

“We have to continue to find ways to fight through the really physical, tough games,” Hardy said. “We have to continue to meet the level of physicality that that our opponents bring to the table. But these are good learning moments for our team.”

The Jazz will play the Rockets on Monday night in the second game of a back-to-back before heading to New York where they will have back-to-back games against the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks on Thursday and Friday.