Georges Niang Ties Career High As Jazz Take Care Of Rockets
May 8, 2021, 10:18 PM | Updated: 10:53 pm
Utah Jazz forward Georges Niang (31) shoots the ball over Houston Rockets forward Anthony Lamb (33) as the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets play an NBA basketball game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 8, 2021. (Annie Barker, Deseret News)
(Annie Barker, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Georges Niang tied his career high on Saturday night as the Utah Jazz took care of the Houston Rockets 124-116 at Vivint Arena.
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The “minivan” Georges Niang finished with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 6-for-8 from the three-point line to lead the Jazz to the win over the Rockets. With the win, Utah became the first team in the NBA this season to win 50 games and have now won five straight.
Jordan Clarkson added 21 points off the bench, while Bojan Bogdanovic poured in 20 points. Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds to go with three blocks.
Kenyon Martin Jr. led the Rockets with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Khyri Thomas also scored 27 points.
The @utahjazz beat the @HoustonRockets 124-116.
The Jazz reach 50 wins faster than any other team in the NBA.
Niang scores 24 for the Jazz.#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/rmCtA3KkOg
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 9, 2021
Touch-And-Go For Jazz In First Half
The Jazz jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first four minutes of the game. Then it went downhill fast as Houston ended the first quarter outscoring the Jazz 25-10 in the final seven minutes as the game was tied at the end of the first period.
Utah made their first three three-pointers of the game before missing their next five in the opening 12 minutes of play. Kenyon Martin Jr. was a bright spot for Houston, scoring 10 points in the first.
The second quarter was close until towards the end when the Jazz put the lead back to 10 but once again, the Rockets made a run. Utah took a 66-60 lead at the halftime break. Bojan Bogdanovic led the way with 15 points. Jordan Clarkson had 14 off the bench and Georges Niang poured in 11 points.
Martin Jr. scored 16 to lead all scorers in the first half, while DaQuan Jeffries, Armoni Brooks and Khyri Thomas all dropped 10 points apiece.
The @utahjazz lead the @HoustonRockets 66-60 at the half.
Quin Snyder has experimented with some lineups in the first half and Houston has stuck around by hitting threes. #Takenote pic.twitter.com/B8hAeox5SK
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 9, 2021
Jazz Pull Away From Rockets In Fourth Quarter
The third quarter was solid for the Jazz as they outscored the Rockets 30-23 and took a 96-83 lead going into the fourth quarter. Utah led by as much as 21 points but Houston didn’t want to throw in the towel.
Georges Niang scored 10 points in the quarter and had 21 through three. Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic were each up to 17 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Jazz finally took a big lead and was up by as many as 22 to put the Rockets away.
The Jazz improved their record to 50-18 on the season. They will hit the road for a quick trip to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors on Monday, May 10 at 8 p.m. MDT on AT&T SportsNet.
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