Houston Rockets center Daniel Theis, left, tips the ball away from Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
HOUSTON (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and seven Utah Jazz players reached double figures in a 122-91 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
Utah is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2006-07 season.
Joining Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Eric Paschall, Hassan Whiteside, Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles also scored in double figures for the Jazz.
“I think every night, it’s going to be a different player playing good basketball, but at the end of the night, as long as we’re getting the (win), we’re all going to be happy,” Bogdanovic said.
Christian Wood led Houston with 16 points and Jalen Green had 13 points on 3 of 16 shooting. He missed all eight of his 3-point attempts. Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun had 14 points.
Houston’s shooting struggled, particularly from behind the 3-point line. The Rockets made just 9 of 44 from beyond the arc, just 20.5%.
Utah, on the other hand, frequently had wide-open looks against Houston’s inexperienced defense and made 16 of 46 for 34.8%. Ingles made 4 of 9 from 3.
“They’re a young team, and regardless of the score, they’re going to play hard every possession,” Ingles said. “They play really hard. At the end of the day, they’re all NBA players so the minute you take a relaxing approach to what’s going on, anyone can score on you.”
Utah owned the perimeter but also had the edge inside, outscoring Houston 46-40 in the paint and outrebounding the Rockets 58-41. Gobert, who entered the game as the league’s leading rebounder with 19.0 per game, led Utah with 14 rebounds in just 28 minutes.
The Jazz led 61-40 at halftime and led by as many as 36 points in the game.
“I thought our guards did a really good job of containing,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “They’ve got some guys who are fast and can play off the dribble. I thought that was the best we’ve run and shared the ball. I thought that was reflected in our catch-and-shoot, too.”
Utah has won five of the past six meetings against Houston.
Houston shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr. suffered a left ankle sprain in the second quarter and did not play in the second half. Porter had five points and two assists in 19 minutes.
TIP-INS
Jazz: F Eric Pascall was listed as questionable with a facial infection, but he played 21 minutes and scored 13 points. … Rudy Gay, who has yet to make his season debut as he recovers from a right heel injury, traveled with the team. … Gobert received a technical foul late in the first half.
Rockets: Danuel House Jr. missed the game with a right foot sprain suffered on Tuesday night against Dallas. In his place in the rotation, KJ Martin played 16 minutes and scored four points.
CLARKSON ON FILIPINO NIGHT
Houston celebrated Filipino Heritage Night in honor of Rockets rookie Jalen Green and Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, who are both of Filipino descent. Clarkson said he had participated in Filipino heritage events in Toronto and has been embraced by the community.
“They love basketball,” Clarkson said. “It’s super inspirational for the youth and anybody with Filipino blood. It’s an amazing experience.”
FACING THE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sengun was asked about the experience of facing Gobert for the first time, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
“He’s a great defender, and this was like my fifth game so, yes, I was a little hesitant,” Sengun said through a translator.
COMING IN HOT
Utah’s bench scored 59 points compared with 63 points from the starters. Bogdanovic and Snyder both credited the effort of the bench late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter in establishing a sizeable lead.
“Those guys did a really good job of raising our energy level tonight,” Snyder said.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Chicago on Saturday.
Rockets: Visit the Lakers on Sunday for the start of a five-game road trip.