HOUSTON (AP) — 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

HOUSTON (AP) — Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic will undergo nose surgery this week and miss the remainder of the season. Jazz coach Will Hardy said before Monday’s game against Houston that Nurkic has needed the procedure for a while. “He has had a really bad deviated septum in his nose,” Hardy said. “He has gotten hit in the face four or five times this year. His recent sickness has pushed that forward. It’s something that he’s needed to get done for a while now, so he’s going to get it taken care of.” The 31-year-old Nurkic averaged 10.9 points and 10.4 rebounds in 41 games in his first season with the Jazz. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the season. “Nurk has been a big part of what we’ve done this year, and he helps our team in a bunch of ways,” Hardy said. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Source link