In the latter half of the Houston Rockets’ first back-to-back, they felt the full affect of the schedule in a 133-125 loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday night. A high-scoring game saw the Rockets on the losing end despite putting up nearly 70 points in the second half.
The Jazz got incredible production from stars Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George, who combined for 57 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Houston, on the other hand, got great scoring from the trio of Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, but the rest of the rotation failed to produce. The three starters combined for 86 of the team’s 125 points.
After the game, head coach Ime Udoka talked about the struggles he saw from his squad, noting it was their first back-to-back of the season. The Rockets have played a league-low 18 games with plenty of rest days in between matches.
Ime Udoka after the #Rockets fall to the Jazz 133-125@HoustonRockets back in action at home Wednesday vs Sacramento pic.twitter.com/Rr0glqfw5z
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) December 2, 2025
“[The Jazz] played harder from the beginning, [they] were the more physical team on both ends,” Udoka said. “We lost [Markkanen and George] a few times, didn’t communicate on them in the zone a few times. But other than that, they were aggressive, like I said, on both sides, putting their head down. And we didn’t match their physicality.”
The Rockets played well offensively, picking up the scoring in the second half (68 points). However, the Jazz outrebounded them 50-46, and scored 17 points off of Houston’s 13 turnovers.
Udoka was also asked about the performances of Aaron Holiday and Jae’Sean Tate. While Holiday has had some notable games already this season, Tate was asked to step up for the back-to-back and recorded an efficient six points, six rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes. Five of his six boards were on the offensive end.
“[Jae’Sean’s] physicality was great. Five offensive rebounds in his minutes, and just brought a level of physicality that we didn’t have,” Udoka said. “It’s the first back-to-back of the year. Can’t make an excuse for that. Looked like it for some guys, and we didn’t have the same juice. Wanted to get a little spark there, and [Tate and Holiday] brought that.
Holiday would finish with 10 points, two rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes, shooting 3-for-10 from the field. He wasn’t as efficient, but he and Tate scored 16 of the bench’s 18 points. The Rockets will go back to Houston to face the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.