Jazz More Aggressive In First Half; Lead Game 3 At The Half

Apr 20, 2019, 10:02 PM

Clint Capela #15 of the Houston Rockets controls the ball in front of Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz in the first half of Game Three during the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 20, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)

(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)

BY TREVOR ALLEN, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After Houston dominated the Jazz in the first quarter of Games 1 and 2, Utah bounced back with not only a big first quarter, but a nice second quarter as well.

They outscored the Rockets 30-28 in the opening period and 25-22 in the second quarter.

The Jazz got off to a great start with two great plays in a row within the first 90 seconds of the game. James Harden picked up two fouls with the second one coming off of fouling Donovan Mitchell on a three-pointer that he made.

The first big play was an alley-oop from Jae Crowder to Mitchell after stealing the ball from Harden.

That sequence fired up the crowd at VIvint Smart Home Arena as the Jazz took an early 8-0 lead.

Houston buckled down and weathered the storm from the Jazz and tied the game at 20 with 3 minutes left in the first.

Donovan Mitchell fired up the crowd once again with another three-pointer. To that point, Utah hit three triples on 11 attempts, Mitchell made two and Joe Ingles hit the other.

Mitchell finished the opening quarter with 13 points and the Jazz had a 30-28 lead.

Utah kept the aggression in the second quarter but the Rockets kept hanging with the Jazz. Midway through the second, Utah had just a one point lead.

The Jazz ended the first half with a crazy sequence of Harden stealing a cross-court pass, which was immediately snatched by Mitchell who found Ingles on the wing to hit the three-pointer with one second left. Utah took a 55-50 lead into the halftime break.