By CARLO ANOLIN
Fil-American Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets exacted revenge against Jordan Clarkson and the Utah Jazz, 116-111, at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Jan. 19 (Thurday in Manila) in their second meeting during NBA’s Filipino Heritage Night.
Garrison Mathews led the Rockets with 23 points, four rebounds, and two assists while Jae’Sean Tate, Eric Gordon, Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood all scored in double digits.
Green, for his part, tallied seven points with five rebounds.
Leading 111-109 with 42.4 to go in the payoff period, Porter Jr. sank a dagger three-pointer to put the Rockets up by five points.
Mike Conley tried a trey of his own but missed as Tate secured the rebound with 15.1 left before the Jazz opted to go for the fouls.
Matthews then drained three of four free throws to take the win away and send the No. 4 seeded team to its second losing skid.
Bojan Bogdanovic paced the Jazz with 29 points, five rebounds, and one assist while Rudy Gobert posted 23 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Clarkson added 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Despite their second straight victory, the Rockets remained at rock bottom in the Western Conference at 14-32 record while the Jazz had a 29-16 slate.
Prior to the game, both Green and Clarkson shared light moments with each other as well as some Filipino fans.Â
