James Harden, Rockets Stunned by Jazz Despite Russell Westbrook's 39 Points

The Utah Jazz handed the Houston Rockets their second loss in a row by topping them 114-113 at the Toyota Center on Sunday night. 

Bojan Bogdanovic was kept scoreless until the 3:49 mark in the third quarter, but he hit the game-winning three-pointer as time expired.

Bojan Wins the Game at the Buzzer for Utah

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The Rockets were without Eric Gordon (lower leg contusion), who was limited to nine minutes during Friday's 127-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns with what head coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters after the game was "just general soreness."

Robert Covington and Danuel House Jr. got the nod to start alongside James Harden, Russell Westbrook and P.J. Tucker. Covington was acquired by Houston from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a four-team trade ahead of Thursday's leaguewide deadline.

Covington came up clutch with 28 seconds left by hitting a three to give the Rockets a 110-109 lead. P.J. Tucker, who reportedly saw his 2020-21 salary become fully guaranteed prior to tipoff, appeared to seal the victory with a three-pointer of his own with 1.6 seconds to go. 

However, Bogdanovic spoiled their efforts, along with Russell Westbrook's game-high 39 points and James Harden's third triple-double of the season.

The Jazz have pieced together back-to-back victories after losing five straight, while the Rockets have dropped two in a row following a four-game winning streak. Houston previously beat Utah 126-117 on Jan. 27.

With this result, the 34-18 Jazz stayed just ahead of the 33-20 Rockets in the Western Conference standings.

Notable Performances

UTAH G Jordan Clarkson: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists

UTAH G Donovan Mitchell: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists

UTAH G Mike Conley: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists

UTAH C Rudy Gobert: 12 points, 15 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

UTAH F Bojan Bogdanovic: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists

HOU G Russell Westbrook: 39 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

HOU G James Harden: 28 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

HOU F Robert Covington: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

HOU F Danuel House Jr.: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals

Jordan Clarkson Sets Jazz Up For Comeback, Buzzer-Beating Win

Bogdanovic was the hero—hitting his second game-winner of the season—but Clarkson was the unsung hero.

The 27-year-old guard was Utah's leading scorer with 30 points off the bench:

It marked Clarkson's third 30-point performance this season and his second since the Cleveland Cavaliers traded him to Utah in late December.

"There was a little bit of a duh-factor being 28th in bench scoring," Jazz executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said following the Clarkson trade, per Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. "We needed to add someone that could just go and get a shot."

Clarkson shot 12-of-19 from the field (3-of-7 from three) and led the Jazz's bench to outscore Houston's 47-13. Bogdanovic, Mitchell and Conley turned it on down the stretch, but he was the reason the Jazz were in position to pull off a buzzer-beating upset. 

Russell Westbrook's 39 Points Not Enough to Overcome Poor 3-Point Shooting

Three-point shooting evened out by the end of the game with the Rockets finishing at 35.7 percent, only slightly behind Utah's 39.5 percent. However, the deep ball was an advantage for the Jazz for the majority of the night. 

Harden went just 2-of-13 from three-point range, while Westbrook's 18-of-33 shooting from the field only included a 1-of-2 performance from deep. Westbrook set the tone with 17 first-quarter points earned by repeatedly getting to the rim:

For all the talk about the Rockets' worrisome small lineup after they dealt 6'10" center Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks in the same four-team trade that landed them Covington, Houston outscored 7'1" Gobert and Utah 54-48 in the paint.

Westbrook skied over Gobert for a major dunk early in the third quarter and hit him with his "rock the baby" celebration after a lay-in:

Ultimately, though, the Jazz got the last laugh despite committing 15 turnovers that resulted in 21 Rockets points. Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Houston has led the NBA in points off turnovers (20.6 per game) in the seven contests they have mostly utilized small lineups.

If Bogdanovic didn't hit the game-winner with two defenders in his face, the narrative would likely be about how Westbrook willed small-ball Houston with help from newly added Covington. But Bogdanovic sunk the shot, and the Rockets will likely chalk this up as a pre-All-Star-break loss with little impact on their long-term championship aspirations.

What's Next? 

The Jazz will travel to Dallas and play the 32-21 Mavericks on Monday night.

The Rockets will host the 36-15 Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.