Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from Game 2 vs. Jazz

The Houston Rockets surprisingly lost home-court advantage Wednesday. Here are three takeaways from Game 2 against the Utah Jazz.

After Game 1 of their second round playoff series, the Houston Rockets appeared to be too much for the young Utah Jazz. They had swept the regular season series and thanks to a dominating performance Sunday, the wounded Jazz looked to have their hands full.

But then Utah flipped everyone on their heads and left Houston with a 116-108 victory in Game 2.

Wednesday’s loss for the Rockets wasn’t a normal one. They scored 108 points, and James Harden and Chris Paul both had good games, finishing with 32 and 23 points, respectively.

To add to their chances, rookie stud Donovan Mitchell only shot 6-for-21 from the field. While Rudy Gobert finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, most of his damage was done in the first half, as he ended the second quarter with 13 points and nine boards.

Overall, the script from Game 1 was flipped: Utah shot better from 3-point range and held Houston to 40 percent shooting overall. The Jazz got big performances from their bench and, you guessed it — Joe Ingles led the team in scoring with 27 points.

With Utah now stealing home-court advantage, the Rockets will have to play better and less lackadaisical going forward. Their effort seemed to wander at times, as Utah appeared to have the most energy throughout the night.

In a game with various noteworthy moments, let’s look at three takeaways from Game 1.