The Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets, 124-121, at Delta Center on Thursday night.

The Rockets (39-41) had been trending in the right direction despite their recent elimination from postseason contention, and they opened Thursday's game seemingly ready to extend their strong stretch of play. Houston jumped out to a 38-28 lead over the Jazz (30-50), but Utah bounced back to eliminate seven points from its deficit before halftime. That trend continued in the third quarter when the hosts actually managed to take a two-point advantage into the fourth quarter, but the game wasn't decided until Fred VanVleet missed a would-be game-tying three-point attempt with 4.1 seconds left and Jeff Green couldn't connect on a desperation full-court heave at the buzzer.

VanVleet led the Rockets with 42 points, adding seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block. Cam Whitmore delivered 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Amen Thompson generated a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double that included four assists and two steals. Green supplied 13 points and six boards.

Luke Samanic paced the Jazz with 22 points, supplementing them with six rebounds, two assists and one steal. Keyonte George furnished 20 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Brice Sensabaugh turned in 17 points, six rebounds and three assists. Talen Horton-Tucker registered 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Kenneth Lofton recorded 14 points, nine boards, five assists two steals and one block. Omer Yurtseven and Johnny Juzang provided matching 10-point efforts while hauling in five and two rebounds, respectively.

The Rockets remain on the road and visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, while the Jazz visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night as well.