Houston @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 28, 2019 ) Utah 0, Houston 0

The Houston Rockets were one of the first two teams to play in the wake of the tragic news of Kobe Bryant's death Sunday afternoon, falling to the Denver in the opener of a challenging back-to-back. The Rockets will try to salvage something of the high-altitude, emotional double-dip when they visit the Utah Jazz on Monday.

Tipping off a couple of hours after Bryant and eight others - including his daughter, Gianna - were killed in a helicopter crash in California, the Rockets managed a fast start against the Nuggets before eventually dropping a 117-110 decision that was rather insignificant given the sadness of the day. "Obviously we cared about losing tonight, but I gotta be honest, it just wasn't on my mind when we lost," Houston guard Austin Rivers told reporters. "I go back to reality. We lost somebody that meant so much to all of us. And then, to hear about his daughter. As a father, I've said many prayers for that family and I will continue to do so. ... I don't know how we played today." The Jazz were idle as the news broke and will return to the court trying to track down the team Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the Western Conference. Winners of 19 of their last 21, the second-place Jazz have gained 4 1/2 games on the front-running Lakers in that span, clicking on every cylinder during the current four-game winning streak in which they are averaging 120.5 points.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: NBA TV, AT&T SportsNet Southwest, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, NBA TV Canada

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (28-17): NBA leading scorer James Harden (36.1 points per game) sat out Sunday's loss due to a thigh contusion and has already been listed as doubtful for the game in Utah. Fellow former MVP Russell Westbrook, who had 32 points and 10 turnovers Sunday, will also sit out the contest to rest, according to coach Mike D'Antoni. Houston figures to lean heavily on guard Eric Gordon, who scored 19 points at Denver and is averaging 23.7 over his last three games.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (32-13): Guard Donovan Mitchell had a team-high 25 points in Saturday's 112-107 win over Dallas, but it was center Rudy Gobert stealing all the post-game hype as he finished another outstanding all-around effort with 22 points on 8-of-8 shooting to go along with 17 rebounds and five blocks. A two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Gobert entered Sunday ranked first in field-goal percentage (68.9), second in rebounds (14.5) and fifth in blocks (2.0) as he makes a bid for what has been an elusive All-Star selection. "I've decided to not even think about it like that," Gobert told reporters when asked about his All-Star chances. "I really decided to control what I can control. How can I help my team win every night? And how can I keep getting better? I think you [can] put too much energy in some things."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Rivers has 29 points, five assists and zero turnovers in 53 minutes over his last two games.

2. Jazz SG Bojan Bogdanovic is 55-of-57 from the foul line in January.

3. The teams split four meetings in the regular season in 2018-19 before Houston eliminated Utah in five games in the first round of the playoffs.

PREDICTION: Jazz 120, Rockets 108