A bounce-back win for the Jazz over the Rockets and the tough conversation that led to it

Honesty and communication are pillars of any strong relationship. That includes the relationship between coaches and players and teammates.

So on Monday morning, as the Jazz got together to meet and watch film ahead of the second of their back-to-back games against the Houston Rockets, they laid everything out on the table.

It was a wide-ranging, honest conversation that covered how they played on Sunday night in a blowout loss to the Rockets and how they let themselves down with lack of energy and effort.

They also touched on the fact that they owe the organization and the fans more than what they gave.

There was definitely talk about adjustments they would want to make against Houston, and they went over some of the schematic nuances that would be important in the Monday’s rematch, but more than anything, every person admitted where they fell short and what more they could do to impact winning rather than give up.

Then, on Monday night, the Jazz came into the Delta Center with the resolve not to repeat their mistakes. After an embarrassing loss on Sunday, the Jazz beat the Rockets, 133-125.

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“For me, it was just about honestly apologizing to the fans,” Keyonte George said. “They don’t deserve how we played yesterday, and just to speak on how I played, they don’t deserve that either.

“Every single night I got to come bring the energy, and that’s what happened tonight...if we don’t bring the energy, we see what it looks like, and when we bring the energy, we see what it looks like, and we beat a great team on other end.”

George, who went scoreless on Sunday with eight turnovers, turned in a 28-point, 8-assist game on Monday, and was one of seven Jazz players who scored in double figures.

Lauri Markkanen led the way with 29 points and eight rebounds, Jusuf Nurkić added 18 points and nine rebounds, Ace Bailey chipped in 13 points, Svi Mykhailiuk had 10 and Kevin Love and Kyle Filipowski combined for 23 off the bench.

The Jazz led the Rockets by as many as 21 points, but the third-best team in the Western Conference wasn’t going to go away easy. and Houston cut the Jazz lead down to just three points in the final minutes of the game.

But, withstanding a run was something Jazz head coach Will Hardy anticipated.

“We talked pregame a little bit about it not being about how we start the game, it’s that we have to sustain our focus for 48 minutes,” Hardy said.

“We’re going to have to go through some tough moments, and I thought for the majority of the game, we played really, really cohesive basketball on both sides the floor.”

It’s possible the Jazz would have wanted to come out on Monday and respond to their Sunday afternoon performance even without some sort of prolonged conversation, but the fact that they were able to be open about their mistakes and own them in conversation, then have a really solid performance, sets a precedent.

It means that blunt, sometimes harsh conversations are something that can be a stepping stone to improvement.

“If we don’t communicate, if we aren’t honest with each other, then not a damn thing is going to get done,” Love said. “So we have to have those conversations, and I was telling these guys, I’m old, 18 years in, and I’ve been on teams where we’re not taking care of like we are here, and to not lose sight of that, and to pay it forward.”

And a way to pay it forward on a team is to foster the relationships with honesty and then prove that you mean what you say when you’re on the court.

On Monday, the Jazz proved that they can better than what they showed on Sunday.

“It shows that we’re capable of focusing as a group,” Hardy said. “It shows that we are capable of managing emotional moments.”