Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets
Monday, February 23, 2026 at 9:30 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 22500830
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 38 30 32 25 125UTA 22 25 28 30 105
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Smith scores 31 points and Thompson adds 20 as Rockets beat the Jazz 125-105
HOUSTON -- — Jabari Smith Jr. had 31 points and nine rebounds and Amen Thompson scored 20 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 125-105 on Monday night.
Smith hit his first five shots and matched a career-high with 14 points in the first quarter. He converted 12 of 17 shots overall and made six 3-pointers.
Thompson shot 8 for 9 from the field and finished with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Kevin Durant scored 18 points and added a season-high 12 assists. Reed Sheppard scored 15 points off the bench.
With the win, the Rockets (35-21) into third place in the Western Conference, behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
Despite nine turnovers, Houston used runs of 11-2 and 10-3 to help build a 38-22 lead after a quarter. The Rockets shot 67% from the field and hit eight shots from long distance.
The Jazz opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run before Houston responded with an 18-2 outburst over the next six minutes and took a 68-47 lead into halftime.
Houston pushed its lead to as many as 33 points in the second half and never led by fewer than 16.
The Rockets scored 29 fast-break points, one off their season-high, but committed a season-high 27 turnovers, leading to 34 points by the Jazz.
Lauri Markkanen’s 29 points led the Jazz (18-40), who have lost three in a row. Brice Sensabaugh scored 26 points off the bench on 10-for-15 shooting.
Jazz forward Vince Williams Jr . had to be helped to the locker room after suffering a left knee injury in the second quarter and did not return. Jazz coach Will Hardy said Williams will get an MRI.
Up next Jazz: Host New Orleans Pelicans for games on Thursday and Saturday.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CC C. Capela
DF D. Finney-Smith
JG J. Green
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
KD K. Durant
RS R. Sheppard
TE T. Eason
UTAAB A. Bailey
BS B. Sensabaugh
CW C. Williams
EH E. Harkless
IC I. Collier
JK J. Konchar
KF K. Filipowski
KL K. Love
LM L. Markkanen
SM S. Mykhailiuk
VW V. Williams Jr.
HOU/UTA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur