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Harden's 31 and 10; Capela's career-high 20 and Gordon's 20 guide Rockets over the Utah Jazz
Posted: November 19, 2016 -- 7:42 pm CDT.
HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets defeated the Utah Jazz 111-102 Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. tip-off); and, Clint Capela was a key factor in the victory. James Harden was his customary sensational-self with 31 points and 10 assists; but, Capela scored a career-high 20 points (10 for 19 field goals) and added 8 rebounds plus 5 assists.
"He (Capela) had a monster game; and, I don't think he did anything that he can't keep repeating," said head coach Mike D'Antoni after the game. "You know his biggest thing is always his energy and (the way he) keeps that up."
"So far, I've been pretty good," Capela said. "I'm just trying to stay consistent about it now. Keep doing my routines. The same stuff. Be consistent about everything I do before and after the game."
Harden scored a 14-foo fade away jump shot to give the Rockets a 21-20 lead with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Rockets did not trail the rest of the ball game.
The Rockets (8-5) led 28-22 at the end of the first quarter and 55-44 at halftime. Their largest lead was 53-37.
Harden scored 17 in the first half and Nene chipped in 12 points on perfect 4 for 4 field goal shooting (including 1 three-point basket) and 3 for 3 from the foul line.
The Rockets' lead dwindled to five points (62-57) in the third quarter; but, Harden scored five quick points and Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza each nailed a three-point shot to boost the lead to 73-60. The lead grew to 81-66 before the Jazz finished the quarter with the last four points for an 81-70 Rockets' lead after 36 minutes.
Capela scored 6 points in the third quarter and 6 more in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets kept the Jazz at arms' length in the fourth quarter. The lead never got smaller than 8 points in the final 12 minutes.
Eric Gordon scored 20 points off the bench and added 7 rebounds plus 6 assists. Nene finished the game with 16 points (6 for 9 field goals) and 6 rebounds. Gordon and Nene led the Rockets' reserves with 36 of the 44 points.
"Tonight, our bench did a really good job of executing and getting us that lead in the fourth quarter and just being solid," James Harden said.
Capela has scored in double-figures in seven of the last 8 games. He's averaging 13.3 points in the 8 games on 62.3% field goal shooting.
The Rockets finished the game with 28 assists and a season-low 5 turnovers.
"That's our type of game," Patrick Beverley said. "We understand that we want to play fast; and, we want to play smart and at our pace also. And, we did that tonight."
Harden did not commit a turnover in the game. The last Rockets player to have at least 10 assists without a single turnover was Jeremy Lin at Golden State February 12, 2013. The last Rockets player to have at least 30 points and 10 assists without a single turnover was Sleepy Floyd at Orlando April 8, 1990.
"We're getting better. We're continuing to get better and grow," Harden acknowledged. "Each and every guy knows their role. They do it a high level; and, the result is we don't turn the basketball over and we get really good shots."
Harden capped off the Rockets' scoring with this gem:
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