HOUSTON, Tex. – After losing two in row, the Utah Jazz got back to winning ways with a 100-89 win over the Houston Rockets Wednesday night at the Toyota Center.

Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 38 points on 14-of-25 shooting with four 3-pointers made. Rudy Gobert finished with a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds to go along with 3 blocks.

Three points off a career high.#PerformanceLeader | @Lexus pic.twitter.com/SmL201vNjZ

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 25, 2018

Better Prepared This Time Around

For the Jazz, who were eliminated by the Rockets in the playoffs last season, they came into the match up with a better understanding of how to play against one of the NBA’s powerhouse teams.

“Last year we really struggled with this team, trying to figure out how to deal with the switches,” said Mitchell. “I think it helped playing five games against them in the playoffs.”

Mitchell also added had that he watched a lot of film on the Rockets before the game and that that greatly helped his preparation for his best game of the season.

Jazz Beat Shorthanded Rockets

The Jazz played a strong first half against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season. At the break, Utah led 52-44 with Mitchell leading the way with 20 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets made a strong 13-3 run to bring the game within seven with less than six minutes to go. Unfortunately for Houston, reigning MVP James Harden was forced to go to the locker room with a hamstring injury. In his absence, the Jazz made a major run of their own, outscoring the Rockets 14-4 from the six minute mark to the final minute of the game to clinch the win.

In addition to the loss of Harden during the game, the Rockets were without point guard Chris Paul, who was serving a two game suspension for his role in an altercation against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

Mitchell Honors McCluskey

Mitchell paid tribute to Lauren McCluskey, the University of Utah track and field student athlete who was shot and killed on campus Monday night, by writing her name on his red Adidas sneakers.

For Lauren ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xdTKRRNmdn

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 25, 2018

.@spidadmitchell honored the late Lauren McCluskey on his shoes tonight as the @utahjazz pick up the victory. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3woS2kZCV8

— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 25, 2018

Next Up

The Jazz will continue their four game road trip with a visit against Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday at 5 p.m. Smoothie King Arena. The game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.