Jazz Play Final Back-To-Back Of Season Against Rockets
May 8, 2021, 7:40 PM
Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz dunks during the third quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on March 06, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
(Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz will finish their final set of back-to-back games tonight when they host the Houston Rockets in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets last night in a 127-120 thriller, but face a quick turnaround against the Rockets who are also playing on the second night of back-to-back games.
Houston lost a shootout in Milwaukee before making the long trip to Utah to face the Jazz.
In total, the Jazz played 12 sets of consecutive games and fared well in the process. The Jazz swept five of their 12 series, split six back-to-backs, and were swept only once on back-to-back games.
Surprisingly, the Jazz struggled far more on the first game of back-t0-back sets than the second. In the six sets of games where the Jazz split the series, they lost five games on the front end of matchups and only once on the second.
Tonight's playoff viewer guide for @utahjazz fans.
What last night's games meant…
How the Jazz can clinch a top two seed in the West, and why you're probably a @spurs fan tonight. #takenote https://t.co/E9E0ZcOMa1
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 8, 2021
The Jazz were only swept in one set of back-to-back games when they lost to the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks on consecutive nights in early January.
Overall, the team’s record was 16-8 in back-to-back games with only two losses in games played on the second night. The Jazz finished with an .846 winning percentage, second-best in the NBA behind only the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Jazz could still eclipse the Clippers for the best winning percentage on back-to-backs with a win over the Rockets tonight and a loss by LA when they travel to face the Charlotte Hornets and the Rockets in consecutive games May 13-14.
The team’s .846 win percentage would be the highest in franchise history, and could match the 2000-01 Jazz as the last time the team led the NBA winning percentage in back-to-back games when they went 13-5.
The Jazz also had the best record in back-to-back games in 1998 when they went 15-4.
