It seems like forever ago when the Houston Rockets were struggling defensively earlier this season, because their defense has been elite in recent weeks. Since the All-Star break, the Rockets have had the league’s second best defense, and they carried that momentum right into the first game of the postseason.
The Rockets held Utah to just 39 percent shooting from the field and 25.9 percent shooting from the 3-point line. Houston limited Donovan Mitchell to 19 points on a not-so-efficient 7-for-18 shooting, 0 assists and forced him into 5 turnovers. Jae Crowder led Utah’s bench in scoring with 9 points, but he shot just 1-for-9 from the field.