Rockets fall in 31-point defeat to the Jazz, Kevin Porter Jr. hurt in loss

HOUSTON — Christian Wood scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the Houston Rockets sustained a 122-91 loss to the Utah Jazz, Thursday night, inside the Toyota Center in Houston.

It was nearly a wire-to-wire victory for the Jazz in their win over the Rockets. Daniel Theis scored the first bucket of the game on a layup attempt assisted by Wood — which gave the Rockets their only lead of the night at 2-0 early in the first quarter.

Royce O’Neal scored a layup on Utah’s next offensive possession, and following a 3-point field goal by Bojan Bogdanovic, the Jazz took a three-point lead over the Rockets and never looked back.

After trailing 32-18 heading into the first quarter, it appeared that the Rockets could not find a rhythm on both ends of the floor. During the first 24 minutes of the game, the Rockets shot 27.9 percent from the field and an unpleasant 13 percent from beyond the arc — as the Jazz took a 61-40 lead into the halftime break.

Prior to the match against the Jazz, the Rockets shot over 40 percent from deep in each of their previous three games.

Houston’s play was not the only issue the Rockets faced in the first half. Midway through the first quarter, Kevin Porter Jr. rolled his ankle and limped off the court.

Although he returned to the game to finish the first half, Porter remained on the sideline throughout the second half. He concluded the game with five points, two rebounds and a pair of assists in 19 minutes of play. Following the loss, coach Stephen Silas said there was no update on Porter’s injury.

After draining a career-best eight of 10 triples in his last home game on Sunday, Jalen Green failed to convert a single 3-point field goal on the night — as he missed all eight of his attempts from beyond the arc.

While trailing 90-57 midway through the third quarter, Green blew past Jazz’s Joe Ingles to convert a two-hand dunk from the baseline. The two-hand slam was Green’s last basket of the game, as he finished with 13 points in 30 minutes.

But an abhorrent night shooting from beyond the arc does not tell the entire story of the Rockets’ struggles. The Jazz outrebounded the Rockets 58-41, while outscoring Houston 46-40 in points in the paint. In addition to their inside scoring, the Jazz shot 35 percent from behind the arc.

The Jazz had seven of their 12 players to score in double-figures. Bogdanovic scored a game-best 19 points while Rudy Gobert added a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.

With the loss, the Rockets dropped to 1-4 on the season, and will embark on their five-game west coast rode trip amid a three game losing streak. The Rockets will open their road trip on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Tip-off is slated for 9:30 P.M. CT inside the Staples Center.