The NBA season is a long, intense one, especially during a lockout year. Sixty-six games in less than four months can seem like a marathon, with twists and turns throughout.

The Utah Jazz season took a definite turn downward as they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in a hard-fought 103-98 loss Saturday.

The past 28 hours are hard to swallow for players, coaches and fans alike. Prior to Friday’s outing against New Orleans, the Jazz were riding an amazing high. They had just defeated the Houston Rockets in one of their most impressive outings.

Since then, though, they’ve dropped back-to-back games in New Orleans and Memphis. The outlook is quite different as a result.

Costly Errors: During a Playoff run, every game is magnified in importance. Likewise, each play can also increase in magnitude.

Such was the case in the fourth quarter where the Memphis Grizzlies manhandled the Jazz 33-22. It was close for a good part of the quarter, but a series of errors did Utah in: missed free throws, telegraphed passes, Memphis offensive boards off free throws, slow defensive rotations on the perimeter and so forth. Those plays permanently shifted momentum toward Memphis.

The Jazz can take solace in the fact that they were very much in it until the end. They probably are also reflecting on the plays that may have certain ramifications on their valiant playoff pursuit.

Numbers that tell Stories:

• 34-17: the free throw disparity in Memphis’ favor. Hats’ off to the Grizzlies for connecting of 28 of them: 82.4 percent. Utah center Al Jefferson had zero free throw attempts, compared to 17 shots from the field.
• 61.7 percent: the proportion of Utah’s available minutes taken by Jefferson, Devin Harris, Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward. Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin altered his rotations quite a bit, going with his starters for most of the second half.
• .83: Points per minute by Memphis guard O.J. Mayo. With 20 points in 24 minutes, the Grizzlies sharpshooter was huge off the pine.
• 7: the number of offensive rebounds by Derrick Favors. Also the number of his defensive ones. Favors has been dominant of late on the glass, averaging 12.7 the past three outings and 8.8 the past 10 games.

David Smith is providing instant analysis for Deseret News’ Utah Jazz coverage this season. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also blogs for the Utah Jazz 360 website. He can be reached at mechakucha1@gmail.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.

In one of the most spirited, complete efforts of the season, the Utah Jazz came to play Wednesday night and snatched a huge road victory in their push for the playoffs. Ahead most of the game, the Jazz held off the Houston Rockets in the fourth quarter, winning 103-91 and keeping their postseason dreams very much alive.

Brilliant Efficiency: It can be argued that sophomore Gordon Hayward has been the most consistent player for the Utah Jazz the second half of the season. Wednesday was additional evidence for that argument. In an excellent display of efficiency, Hayward destroyed the Rockets with an impressive offensive stat line: 9 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 on 3-pointers and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free-throw line en route to a game-high 29 points.

He also added six assists and two steals and played some solid defense in the second half. Gordon Hayward is clearly a reason for Utah Jazz fans to be optimistic about now and the future.

Defensive Dominance: The last time these two teams locked horns in Houston, back in February, the Rockets were on fire, shooting 51 percent from the field, including 10 treys in 19 attempts. Behind some lackadaisical defense, Utah fell 101-85.

Things were dramatically different in Wednesday’s rematch. The Jazz were spry and quick, rotated well, played excellent team defense and talked and helped each other out.

After a fairly nice start, Houston was held to just 31-of-87 shooting for the game —35.6 percent. A team that relies on the long ball, the Rockets missed 16-of-20 attempts from downtown. Kyle Lowry, who made 7-of-8 3-pointers in February, had just one thanks to the Jazz point guards’ emphasis on guarding him.

Utah also added eight more block shots, with three apiece coming from Derrick Favors and Al Jefferson. Paul Millsap, seventh in the NBA in steals, led the Jazz with three thefts, as the team had seven total.

It should also be noted that Utah shot 51.3 percent from the field and made 6-of-14 three-pointers.

Quick hits:

• The Houston point guard tandem of Goran Dragic and Lowry had a combined 34 points and 12 assists. Conversely, Utah’s duo of Devin Harris and Jamaal Tinsley had just 13 points and nine dimes. But they played a steady game and helped orchestrate the win.
• Dragic, Lowry, Luis Scola, Courtney Lee and Chase Budinger combined to shoot 17 of 56, a mere 30.4 percent.
• With the exception of the foul-plagued Harris, the other Jazz starters each had at least a +10 +/- rating for the game.

David Smith is providing instant analysis for Deseret News’ Utah Jazz coverage this season. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also blogs for the Utah Jazz 360 website. He can be reached at mechakucha1@gmail.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.

HOUSTON
– Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 29 points and the Utah Jazz helped their fading playoff hopes with a 103-91 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Paul Millsap added 21 points and Al Jefferson had 15 for the Jazz, who held the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference standings coming into the game.

The Jazz shot 51 percent (40 of 78) and led by as many as 18, taking advantage of Houston’s poor shooting.

Houston started the night in the sixth in the West, and had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Goran Dragic scored 19, Kyle Lowry added 15 off the bench and Marcus Camby grabbed 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who shot 36 percent (31 of 87) from the field.

Lowry drew a loud ovation when he replaced Dragic in the final minute of the first quarter. Lowry was playing in his third game — and first at home — since recovering from a bacterial infection that sidelined him for 15 games.

The Rockets led early, but Hayward sank a 3-pointer and Millsap hit three mid-range shots during a 13-1 Utah spurt bridging the first and second quarters. The Rockets missed six straight shots during the spurt, and trailed 38-26.

Houston answered with a quick 10-0 burst, finished by Chase Budinger’s 3-pointer. But the Jazz made 22 of 38 shots in the first half (58 percent) and led 56-46 at the break. Hayward had 17 points and Millsap had 16 in the opening half.

Early in the third quarter, a Jazz turnover led to a fast-break dunk by Courtney Lee to make it 64-56. Lee missed a 3-pointer on Houston’s next trip, and Jefferson broke free for a two-handed dunk to quiet the crowd again.

Jefferson and Millsap scored again from close range and Hayward sank his fourth 3-pointer as Utah stretched the lead to 76-60. The Rockets, meanwhile, went cold in the third quarter, missing 15 of 19 shots.

Houston coach Kevin McHale had Lowry and Dragic on the floor together late in the third and early in the fourth quarter. Lowry drove for two layups, and assisted on baskets by Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson to start a Houston rally.

Lowry threw a long pass to Dragic for a breakaway dunk with 6:56 left and the Rockets trailed only 85-80. Jefferson scored, but Lowry answered with his first 3-pointer of the night to cut the deficit to four.

Budinger missed a 3, and Hayward raced for a crowd-silencing dunk with 5:34 remaining. Hayward made an off-balance shot, drew contact from Scola and hit the resulting free throw to put Utah up 93-83.

Derrick Favors finished off the Rockets with a dunk with 1:10 left for a 98-89 lead. Hayward swished a pair of free throws with 56 seconds to go, and Utah hit 100 points for the fifth time in six games.

Notes: The Jazz have won seven of their last 14 road games. … Utah blocked eight shots. The Jazz came in ranked fourth in the league in blocks per game (5.8). … Utah improved to 25-6 when holding its opponent below 100 points… Dragic reached double-figures for the 20th straight game, a career high. … Houston went 4-for-20 from 3-point range (20 percent).

HOUSTON — Earlier today, Utah Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin called tonight’s showdown with Houston Rockets a “huge game.”

Twenty-four minutes into it, his team is playing like it.

Gordon Hayward has scored 17 points and Paul Millsap has added 16 to lead the Jazz to a 56-46 halftime lead over the Rockets at Toyota Center.

After a bit of a slow start — falling behind by six early on — the Jazz palyed with extra oomph and hustle while using a 12-2 spurt to gain control of momentum and tempo in the first half.

The Jazz shot 57.9 percent over the first 24 minutes compared to 41.9 percent by the Rockets.

Chandler Parsons leads Houston with 10 points.

The Jazz (30-28) could get closer to a playoff spot with a win over the Rockets (35-28). Utah only has 10 players available because of injuries, including Jeremy Evans’ sprained ankle.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

Houston • Gordon Hayward’s season- and game-high 29 points led the Jazz to a 103-91 victory against the Rockets on Wednesday at Toyota Center.

Goran Dragic’s 19 points topped Houston.

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER ANALYSIS

The First: Jazz 30, Rockets 26

Utah plays well on the offensive end but can’t contain Houston’s two-guard attack, and it’s 19-13 Rockets midway through the quarter. Gordon Hayward keeps firing, though, ending up with 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting.

The Second: Jazz 56, Rockets 46

Six consecutive points by Paul Millsap stretch Utah’s lead to 38-26. A 10-0 Houston run follows, peaking with a 3-pointer by Chase Budinger. Then Hayward and Millsap regain control.

The Third: Jazz 80, Rockets 67

Utah’s attack doesn’t stop. Hayward keeps hitting, Millsap continues to pound, and the Jazz completely outwork Houston. Utah’s blitz hits 78-60 late in the period.

The Fourth: Jazz 103, Rockets 91

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Houston finally comes to life. Kyle Lowry wakes the Rockets up, then drills a 3 that cuts Utah’s lead to 87-83. But the Jazz go big while Jamaal Tinsley runs point, and Utah finishes the Rockets off.

Jazz-Rockets boxscore

Western Conference playoff standings

Twitter: @tribjazz

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Many things can transpire over the course of a 48-minute game. After getting down by double-digits minutes into the game, the Utah Jazz took their time and capitalized on stellar second and third quarters to steal a huge road victory over division rivals Portland Trailblazers, 102-97.

The win kept the Jazz right in the thick of things, just one game behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth playoff seed. Meanwhile, Portland continues their inconsistent play, dropping to 25-29 on the season.

Middle quarters: Portland came out on all cylinders, hitting jump shot after jump shot. At one point, they had drained seven of eight (87.5 percent) three-pointers. With 5:47 left in the second quarter, the Trailblazers increased their lead to 48-34. It was then that the Utah Jazz took control.

Over the span of the next 11 minutes, the Jazz went on a remarkable 37-12 run. Behind offensive forays by Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward, the terrific defense of Derrick Favors, and the playmaking of Jamaal Tinsley, Utah took control of the game’s momentum. While it see-sawed down the stretch—including a 97-94 deficit with 2:34 left—Utah used this integral run to propel them to the win.

Big line-up: For the first time this season, Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin went with a new line-up that caused mismatches with its length, versatility, and tenacity. The non-traditional line-up of Al Jefferson, Favors, Millsap, Hayward, and Devin Harris opened up things in the second quarter. Tinsley came in when Harris suffered an ankle injury and the line-up did not skip a beat.

Fantastic frontcourt: It is difficult for teams to lose when three players finish the game with double-doubles. No one was bigger Monday evening than Paul Millsap. He hit crucial shots all night, especially in the fourth quarter as he countered Portland’s clutch shooting time after time. When the game finished, his hard work and smooth moves resulted in 31 points on 14 of 20 field goals, along with 11 rebounds.

While his numbers may not scream out, Favors’ presence made the Jazz extremely formidable defensively and on the boards. He finished with 11 rebounds and 11 points in 31 minutes. It was a rare opportunity for the second-year forward to play alongside the starting bigs.

Jefferson’s shot was off, as he struggled against a long defender in LaMarcus Aldridge. He still managed to contribute 13 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists for Utah.

Last but not least, Hayward played a good part of his minutes at the small forward slot. So when you add his 20 points (including three triples), the Jazz front court were the main drivers behind the win.

SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, but the Utah Jazz roster remains the same.

Though general manager Kevin O’Connor said they Jazz were “actively looking” to improve their team leading up to today’s 1 p.m. deal cutoff, nothing transpired on the trade front on what was an active wheeling and dealing day around the league.

Jazz PR director Jonathan Rinehart confirmed that Utah did not make a trade.

Four Jazz players’ names came up in late rumors around the NBA, including Raja Bell, Josh Howard, C.J. Miles and Jamaal Tinsley.

O’Connor hinted that the Jazz might be better off to wait until this offseason — either at the June draft or going into training camp — to strike a deal with the “flexibility” he has with the makeup of his roster and trade exceptions.

“One thing you’ve got to consider if you do make a trade, you’ve got 20-22 games left by the time the guy gets here if you make the trade, first thing,” O’Connor said earlier this week. “And then second thing, if you add up the number of practices that you have, you don’t have a whole lot of practices (after) doing it. That’s go to play into it a little bit because maybe you can make the same deal during the summer.”

Regarding the Jazz’s interest in being involved in trades, O’Connor admitted earlier this week, “We’re active. We’re listening. We’re aggressive in trying to talk (about) things.”

Coach Tyrone Corbin admitted players get “anxious” at trade deadline time, and O’Connor believes most players will feel relieved now that nothing happened.

“On March 15 at 1 o’clock or 2 o’clock, most of the guys are happy that they haven’t been traded,” O’Connor said Monday.

The Jazz will have nine players under contract at the end of this season, with about $50 million in salary tied up.

Players under contract through at least the end of the 2012-13 season include: Raja Bell, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward, Al Jefferson, Enes Kanter, Paul Millsap and Earl Watson.

Players whose contracts expire at the end of this season include DeMarre Carroll, Jeremy Evans, Josh Howard, C.J. Miles and Jamaal Tinsley.

That means at the very least, the Jazz will have to pick up or re-sign at least four players to reach the roster minimum of 13.

The Utah Jazz are doing all they can earn a spot in the NBA Playoffs this season. With April marking the final month of the NBA season, a strong showing is necessary if they hope to earn a spot. Look for Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Gordon Hayward to come up big in their final push.

Check with your service provider for channel listings in your area. With NBA League Pass, Jazz fans across the nation can catch every game and witness every play.

Note: All start times Mountain

April 2012

Mon 2, Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers, 8 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 4, Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Fri 6, Golden State Warriors at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Sun 8, Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs, 5 p.m. (ROOT)

Mon 9, San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 11, Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Fri 13, Utah Jazz at New Orleans Hornets, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Sat 14, Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Mon 16, Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 18, Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers, 8 p.m. (ROOT)

Sat 21, Orlando Magic at Utah Jazz, 8:30 p.m. (ROOT, ESPN)

Tue 24, Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Thu 26, Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Sources:

All data provided by NBA.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

CLEVELAND — In multiple ways, this has been a rebound season for Enes Kanter.

Not only is the Utah Jazz center on the rebound from being forced to take a year off at Kentucky because of NCAA eligibility issues, but he’s also seemingly gotten his hands on just about every rebound that comes his way.

The 6-foot-11 big man is sixth in the NBA in rebounding rate (16.7 boards per 48 minutes). He’s also the third-leading rookie rebounder (5.0 per game) despite only averaging 14.5 minutes.

With that in mind, Kanter did something — rather, didn’t do something — last week for the first time in his life.

In Wednesday’s win over the Houston Rockets, Kanter logged just over 10 minutes but didn’t get any boards.

“I think,” he said with a grin, “it was the first game I didn’t get any rebounds.”

Ever. Including all of those games growing up in Turkey, his short prep career in California and his fledgling pro career.

“I wasn’t feeling good,” Kanter explained. “I was feeling sick. I’m still not used to that (Utah) weather yet. I was still a little bit cold.”

Some energy drinks and medicine helped Kanter — hopefully a good coat will be in his future — and he was back to crashing the glass Friday against Miami.

Kanter’s mindset against the Heat was: “Last game, I didn’t have any rebounds. Now this game I have to get rebounds and try to help my teammates like that.”

In other words, like he always does. Except once. Ever.

While grabbing six rebounds, Kanter also did something in Friday’s game that made one of his Jazz mentors very happy. Center Al Jefferson has been harping on the youngster to not bring the ball down when he grabs offensive boards.

“In my opinion,” Jefferson said, “that’s his only major default is just making himself small.”

Guilty, as charged, Kanter admitted.

“After offensive rebounds, I always bring it down. I know I’m not supposed to bring it down; I was just bringing it down,” Kanter said. “As soon as I bring it down, people were just stealing it. I was looking at the bench, I was like, ‘Don’t do it again, don’t do it again.’ (Jefferson) just started to tell me if you bring it down the guards are going to slap it and going to try to steal it.”

GUARDS: Devin Harris had one of his best games of the season, and he helped turn the game’s tide in the final minutes of the second quarter. Gordon Hayward was solid all-around. The Rockets’ usual strong backcourt was off. Kyle Lowry spent too much time whining at the officials, and Kevin Martin shot 20 percent.

Grade: A

Forwards: Josh Howard looks to be better suited to a starting role, as he had 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. There was nothing wrong with Derrick Favors’ game as he contributed defensively and on the boards. Luis Scola calmed down after an outstanding first quarter, and Chandler Parsons was a non-factor.

Grade: B+

Centers: Al Jefferson had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Samuel Dalembert made just one basket. Houston is extremely thin at center, and Jefferson probably could have taken the night off and saved his energy for the Miami Heat on Friday.

Grade: B+

Bench: C.J. Miles had a season-high in points and led the Jazz in scoring. Earl Watson had an interesting stat-line with no points, eight assists and six rebounds. Jeremy Evans even got in the act — after committing two turnovers in the first 90 seconds he played, that is. He had two dunks in the fourth quarter, and an outstanding block of an attempted dunk by Goran Dragic. The Jazz reserves only outscored the Rockets’ bench by three, but they greatly outplayed them.

Grade: B+

Overall: The Jazz needed this win as badly as they needed any victory this season. They cooled down what had been a hot Rockets team, and overcame a sluggish start. Harris, who wasn’t at 100 percent and sat out all of the fourth quarter, sparked the turnaround in the second quarter. The Jazz also won without Paul Millsap, who they undoubtedly need back before playing the Heat on Friday night.

Grade: A

SALT LAKE CITY — A somewhat unexpected thing happened to the Utah Jazz on the way to what would’ve been their fifth straight setback.

Surprise! They found a way to win instead.

Thanks to a superb performance off the bench by swingman C.J. Miles and a gritty effort by point guard Devin Harris, the Jazz snapped out of their midseason slump with an impressive 104-83 victory on Wednesday night over the Houston Rockets — the same team that started Utah’s tailspin with a 101-85 decision on Feb. 19.

Ten days (and three more disappointing losses) later, though, Miles and Co. shook off their doldrums with a much-needed win that pulls the Jazz (16-18) back within a couple of games of .500 and, more importantly, helps restore the confidence level that had slowly but steadily been slipping with their recent slump.

Miles scored a season-high 27 points on some slick 10-of-16 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and he provided the spark Utah needed after falling behind 26-18 at the end of the first quarter.

“I was just trying to be aggressive was my biggest thing, just keep playing,” said Miles, who came into the game averaging 9.2 points per game — and scored three times that many in Wednesday’s win. “I’ve got to put in a lot of work, just stay ready so when I get those minutes.

“We’ve had a couple of injuries (Paul Millsap and Raja Bell), so I was able to stay on the floor a little longer. The biggest thing is to keep playing in the flow of the game and it’s going to come.

“I’ve got in the habit lately of, when I’m open, rushing as fast as I can ’cause I’m open and shooting shots clear off the back of the rim or whatever it may be,” Miles said. “I told myself ‘just relax’ and, over the (All-Star) break, I had a chance to be in the gym and remind myself the reason why you’re here and what you can do and the reason they put you in the position you’re in. And I came out of the break like, that’s too much pressure I put on myself to not be able to play the game the way I’ve been playing.”

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin was certainly pleased with Miles’ performance.

“C.J. was huge for us,” he said. “Any time we can get him or the perimeter guys to make shots from the perimeter or put the ball on the floor and attack the basket, it makes our offense flow a lot better.

“I thought he did great job of coming out and focusing on getting us going — he got himself going and made shots, he attacked the basket, and we did a good job of executing our offense as a result.”

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz will be down two starters for tonight’s home game against the Houston Rockets.

Both Paul Millsap and Raja Bell will be sidelined for the 7 p.m. tip at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz will also be without backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley, who has stomach flu.

Millsap was examined today by team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason after injuring his left foot Tuesday in Sacramento. The good news is that X-rays taken of Millsaps severely bruised left heel were negative. He was ruled out, however, and will miss his first game this season.

Bell will miss his fourth straight game because of his strained left adductor. He hopes to be back by Friday’s game against Miami.

In their place, Josh Howard and Derrick Favors will start for the struggling Jazz. Other starters include Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward and Al Jefferson.

Utah (15-18) is hoping to snap a four-game losing streak, which incidentally began against the Rockets in Houston a week ago Sunday.

NBA dunk champion Jeremy Evans along with Rising Stars Hayward and Favors will all be honored before the game by Jazz brass and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.

Email: jody@desnews.com

Twitter: DJJazzyJody

Blog: Jazzland.blogs.deseretnews.com

Houston • Two games away from the NBA All-Star break, it’s become almost automatic for the Jazz: Win a good one at home, lose a big one on the road.

For a team that was completely rebuilding and had already gone all-in on its youth movement, a back-and-forth sway that ultimately produces little momentum would be tolerable. It takes good teams years to learn how to win away from home, and Utah often leans on four players 21 or younger.

But the Jazz insist their eyes are set on the playoffs, and it’s the team’s veterans who’ve often given away close road contests this season. With Utah falling back to .500 on Sunday via a disappointing 101-85 loss to the Houston Rockets, Jazz center Al Jefferson acknowledged his team’s repeating on-off pattern is starting to feel like a “roller coaster.”

“We play well on the road for some games — the [Feb. 12] Memphis game was a perfect example. But for some reason, we don’t have it every night on the road,” said Jefferson, who topped Utah with a team-high 23 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. “I don’t know what it is or why. I can’t give you [a] quick answer for that one.”

Paul Millsap added 22 points, four boards and three steals for the Jazz (15-15), who walked off the court tied with surging Minnesota for fourth and last place in the Northwest Division, as well as 10th in a crowded Western Conference.

After destroying a seven-win Washington team 114-100 Friday at EnergySolutions Arena, Utah again returned to an unforgiving reality. The Jazz host San Antonio (22-9) Monday, then travel to take on the Timberwolves on Wednesday before the All-Star break begins.

“It’s disappointing, man,” Jefferson said. “We knew how important this game was for us. We didn’t close it out. I don’t know why.”

For all of the progress Utah’s made and the resilient fight the club’s shown this season, the Jazz are just 3-10 away from Salt Lake City. And with the toughest part of his team’s schedule still to come — including away games in early March at Dallas, Philadelphia and Chicago — Utah coach Tyrone Corbin knows his squad’s ability to win on the road could eventually define the Jazz during a lockout-shortened campaign.

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“It really is [a hurdle]. We do a pretty good job of taking care of our home business. But you’ve got to win games on the road to have a chance to be in the mix at the end of the season for a playoff run,” Corbin said. “We’ve got to get it figured out, man. We’re growing a little bit. But we’ve got to be able to finish games on the road. We’re right in there. That fourth quarter: We’ve got to make sure we do the right things, then to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Utah was often exposed during the final two periods Sunday. Houston (18-14) outscored the Jazz 56-39 after halftime, shooting 63.6 percent (21-for-33) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) behind the 3-point line. The Rockets were deadly during the fourth, hitting 4 of 7 3s as Kyle Lowry and Courtney Lee sank wide-open looks that became game-changers.

After watching Lowry pour in a game-high 32 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 7-for-8 beyond the arc, Jazz reserve point guard Earl Watson said he’d had enough. From Russell Westbrook and Jeremy Lin to Chris Paul and Lowry, speedy and aggressive point guards have burned Utah all season. With high-caliber 1s shredding the Jazz’s defense and initiating havoc that either results in high-percentage layups for themselves or wide-open looks for teammates waiting along the perimeter, Watson said it’s time for Utah to make a stand.

“We have to start stopping point guards. We haven’t changed our coverage yet. Our coverage has been the same since day one,” Watson said.

He added: “If the coverage don’t change, I have to change. … I have to put the referees in a tough position, to either call a foul or let it play. I have no choice. Because I can’t keep letting point guards score. … It’s ridiculous. It’s beyond ridiculous.”

Briefly

Jazz guard Raja Bell (strained right adductor) left the game with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter. He’s a game-time decision against San Antonio. “I tweaked my groin a little bit, and we’ll see how that feels [Monday],” Bell said. … Jefferson experienced stomach pains during the contest. He said “I’m good,” though, during a postgame interview.

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