ROCKETS STUMBLE
Rockets collapse late as Jazz surge past Houston
Feb 23, 2025, 10:31 pm
Jazz defeat the Rockets, 124-115. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.
Keyonte George scored 30 points and Lauri Markkanen added 23 points and 10 rebounds to rally the Utah Jazz to a 124-115 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Walker Kessler had 11 points and 17 rebounds, and Isaiah Collier added 12 points and 10 assists to help Utah snap a two-game skid.
Alperen Sengun led Houston with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Jalen Green added 25 points and 10 assists, and Amen Thompson had 23 points.
Aaron Holiday and Thompson made back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Rockets up 96-89. But the Jazz surged ahead for good behind a 21-5 run. Three straight baskets, capped by Cody Williams' layup, gave Utah a 110-101 lead with 5:59 left.
Sengun and Dillion Brooks each scored a pair of baskets to key an early 13-2 spurt that gave Houston a 45-40 lead midway through the second quarter.
Utah chipped away at the deficit, but did not retake a lead again until the third quarter when Markkanen bookended a string of four straight baskets that powered a 13-5 run. Kessler’s alley-oop dunk three possessions later punctuated that run and put the Jazz up 77-76.
Takeaways
Rockets: Houston committed only four turnovers over the first three quarters before coughing up the ball three times in the fourth.
Jazz: George propped up Utah’s struggling offense in the first half, scoring 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting before halftime.
Key moment
After falling behind by seven early in the fourth, the Jazz scored on six straight possessions and took the lead for good on a pull-up 3 from George.
Key stat
Utah outscored Houston 66-36 in the paint.
Up next
Houston hosts Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Utah hosts Portland on Monday night.
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The Astros know how to win these games, and it shows
Jun 29, 2025, 4:28 pm
Kyle Tucker launched a three-run homer and matched a season high with four hits against the team that traded him in December, and the Chicago Cubs routed Houston 12-3 on Saturday night to stop the Astros' five-game winning streak.
Tucker also scored four times to pace a Cubs lineup that pounded out 15 hits, including three by Dansby Swanson. Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner also went deep.
Chicago hit three homers in an inning for the second time this season during a seven-run fourth. Busch and Hoerner had back-to-back solo shots to put the Cubs on top 3-2, and Tucker’s drive made it 7-2.
The offensive outburst came in support of Colin Rea (5-3), who allowed two runs and five hits over five innings. The only blemish on his line was rookie Cam Smith’s two-run homer in the third, which briefly gave the Astros a 2-1 lead.
Smith, part of the package Houston received for Tucker, finished with two hits and has homered in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Lance McCullers Jr. (1-3) came off the injured list and allowed eight runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings.
Isaac Paredes, also part of the Astros' trade return for Tucker, hit his 17th home run.
Key moment
Tucker’s three-run homer in the fourth that put the Cubs ahead 7-2.
Key stat
McCullers has a 10.89 ERA in five home starts this season, but hasn’t allowed an earned run in three road starts.
Up next
Houston LHP Framber Valdez (8-4, 2.88 ERA) opposes RHP Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.77 ERA) when the series concludes Sunday.