NBA Playoffs 2018: Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz Game 2 live stream: Watch online
By Jason Patt
The Houston Rockets dominated Game 1 against the Utah Jazz, and now James Harden and Co. have their eyes on a 2-0 advantage in Wednesday’s Game 2.
Despite winning in five games, the Houston Rockets had a somewhat uneven first-round performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The league’s top seed often struggled to start games before pulling away in the second half. That certainly wasn’t the case in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Utah Jazz, as the Rockets ran out to a 25-point halftime lead before taking home a 110-96 victory.
James Harden put forth a dominant performance, going for 41 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The MVP front-runner hit seven of Houston’s 17 3-pointers in the blowout. Chris Paul knocked in three of those triples as part of a 17-point performance that included six assists and four steals.
Clint Capela outplayed Rudy Gobert, with Capela going for 16 points and 12 rebounds while playing strong defense. Gobert may win Defensive Player of the Year, but he wasn’t able to deter the Rockets’ explosive offensive attack and didn’t block a shot for the first time since the end of March.
The Jazz found themselves in a tough spot on several fronts in Game 1. Not only were the Rockets well-rested, but Utah had just finished off an emotional series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Jazz also lost Ricky Rubio to a hamstring injury in Game 6 against the Thunder, and he likely still won’t be available for Wednesday’s Game 2. Without Rubio to run the show in Game 1, Utah’s offense struggled mightily in the first half as the game got out of hand.
Rookie Donovan Mitchell ran his playoff streak of 20-point games to seven by scoring 21 points, but he shot just 9 of 22 from the field and was a team-worst minus-15.
Date: Wednesday, May 2
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: Toyota Center
TV Info: TNT
Live Stream: Watch live on FuboTV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial. Qualified subscribers can also watch on TNT Overtime.
Next: All live stream info in one place
After the quick turnaround from the Thunder series to this one, the Jazz should be better prepared for Game 2 thanks to the two off days. However, the Rubio injury is a tough one to deal with, and the Rockets’ firepower might just be too much to handle.