The Houston Rockets got into an on-court brawl on Saturday, this time against the Utah Jazz.
Jabari Smith Jr. and the Jazz’s Kris Dunn attempted to punch each other after getting tangled during a game Houston won 147-119.
Just five seconds into the second quarter, as the Rockets brought the ball up, Smith Jr. attacked Dunn as he grabbed hold of his jersey.
The pushing and shoving escalated into punches, and teammates and officials had to separate the two players.
After the incident, both men were sent off.
This is Houston’s second ejection in two games, the first being Thursday night’s game against the Bulls when Dillon Brooks and DeMar DeRozan were ejected.
Brooks was upset about the hard foul DeRozan committed on Jaylen Green.
Despite losing two big men in Smith Jr. and Alperun Sengun (Sengun is out with a Grade 3 ankle sprain), the Rockets still defeated Utah.
Guards Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet scored 75 points, including 17 3-pointers.
With this win, the Rockets’ winning streak extends to eight.
Houston has also won 10 of its last 11 games and is now 1.5 games behind the 10th-seeded Golden State Warriors in the West for the final spot in the play-in tournament.
After the win, Rockets head coach Iim Udoka credited Green’s recent play for being the catalyst for the Rockets’ late-season turnaround.
“He’s obviously in great shape.” Udoka Said. “Just like people sometimes go into slumps, this is how people can keep going. But the important thing is that he got back up and remained confident even when things weren’t going well. , all a really good scorer needs is to see a few people score. A game or two of hot shooting can snowball like this.
“I’m proud of the way he overcame adversity. Different demands from a new team and coaching staff and always doing different things to stay the course and fight through is not easy. And he did it. It’s great to see him come out the other side.”
Houston will look for its ninth straight win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
