Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Utah Jazz to a 107-91 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 4 of their Western Conference series. Jae Crowder added 23 points. Ricky Rubio chipped in 18 points and 11 assists and Derrick Favors finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Utah staved off elimination to force Game 5. James Harden scored 30 points to lead Houston. Chris Paul added 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Eric Gordon chipped in 16 points. Utah’s offence got a major boost from Crowder and Rubio in the first quarter. The duo combined for 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the quarter to help the Jazz carve out a double-digit lead. Stream live coverage of the 2018/19 NBA Playoffs & every game of The NBA Finals with ESPN on KAYO SPORTS. Get your 14 day free trial > The Jazz opened the fourth quarter with a 15-1 and outscored the Rockets 31-12 in the period. Mitchell scored 13 points in three minutes to fuel the run after totalling just 12 points in the first three quarters. He capped off the surge with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Jazz a 91-80 lead with 9:02 remaining. Mitchell later had an incredible alley-oop dunk when he caught an errant pass and threw it down. MORE BASKETBALL NEWS ‘IQ LEVEL IS CRAZY’: SYDNEY KINGS PLAY BOGUT BROUGHT TO NBA CHAMPS THE ELITE SIMMONS IMPACT THAT GOES UNNOTICED NETS VILLAIN DOUBLES DOWN ON SIMMONS STANCE Crowder got things going by scoring five of Utah’s first six baskets. Rubio built on the momentum by fuelling a 14-1 run with four baskets and a pair of free throws. It helped the Jazz carve out a 30-16 lead with 3:03 left in the quarter. Houston had three straight turnovers to open the door for Utah to seize a double-digit lead. The Jazz scored 10 points off six Rockets turnovers in the quarter. An 8-0 run, capped by Austin Rivers’ dunk off a steal by Chris Paul, helped Houston trim the deficit to 30-24 before quarter’s end. The Rockets continued to cut into the lead during the second quarter, but could not overtake Utah until the third quarter. Houston opened the quarter on a 10-2 run sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Gordon. Harden capped it off with three free throws to give the Rockets a 57-55 lead. Australian wing Joe Ingles finished with three points, five rebounds, and four assists in the win.<doc-sep>The No. 4-seeded Houston Rockets held off the No. 5-seeded Utah Jazz to win their first-round playoff series in five games. While the first two games were massive blowouts in favor of Houston, the last three games of the series were a lot more interesting. The Rockets barely nipped the Jazz in Game 3 despite James Harden missing his first 15 shots of the game. In Game 4, the Jazz were finally able to overcome the Rockets behind Donovan Mitchell's 31 points and Jae Crowder's 23-point contribution. The Rockets held off the Jazz in front of their home fans in Game 5 behind James Harden's 26-point, six-rebound, six-assist effort and Clint Capela's double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. The game was close all throughout, but Houston was able to outlast Utah as the Jazz missed key 3-pointers towards the end of the game. Houston will now move on to the second round of the playoffs where they will match up with either the Golden State Warriors or the Los Angeles Clippers. Rockets brace for rematch against Warriors While everyone would have loved to see these two Western Conference powerhouses rematch in the Western Conference Finals, fans will likely have to get ready to watch it one round earlier in the semifinals (assuming the Clippers lose). We all know what happened last year with the Rockets losing the last two games of the series, in large part due to Chris Paul's absence and the fact that the best 3-point shooting team somehow choked and missed 27 consecutive 3-pointers versus the Warriors in Game 7. Barring a massive upset, Houston should get their chance for redemption as they look to avenge last year's blown series lead. Rockets win in spite of Harden's shooting struggles James Harden is arguably the NBA MVP for the second straight season, but he struggled drastically from the field during this series. He missed his first 15 shots and went 3-of-20 overall and the Rockets were still able to win Game 3. In Game 5, he started out 1-for-11 from the field and finished 10-for-26 for the game and Houston still finished off Utah. For the series, Harden converted on a less than spectacular 36.7 percent of his field-goal attempts. If you would have said before the series started that Harden would struggle this much from the field, I think everybody would have pegged the Jazz as the winners of this series. Mitchell gets hounded in matchup vs. Rockets Donovan Mitchell is a young guy who is the clear star of the Jazz's franchise. With that said, he's still just 22 years old and he just completed his second season. Needless to say, he found out the hard way what it's like to be a star in this series. The young shooting guard was absolutely hounded by the Rockets in five games as he struggled to not only find his shot, but he struggled to score points. Mitchell scored just 12 points in the deciding Game 5, going for 4-for-22 from the field as the Jazz desperately needed him to find his stroke to continue the series. For the series, Mitchell converted on just 35.6 percent of his field-goal attempts and 32.4 percent of his 3-point attempts. He'll be thinking about this series for a long time as the Jazz head into the offseason. Playoff series results (Rockets win series, 4-1) 2019 NBA Playoff Bracket<doc-sep>The Utah Jazz didn’t go down without a fight, but the result was the same regardless. The Jazz were downed by the Houston Rockets 100-93 to lose the series 4-1, ending Utah’s season. Houston completed the gentlemen’s sweep and, as was the theme for the Jazz in this series, they will see plenty of missed opportunities to extend their postseason run when they watch the tape on this one. After allowing a 10-0 run to start the second half, Utah faced a 12-point deficit early in the third. The Jazz did a great job of staying within striking distance for the rest of the game and even took a 77-75 lead when Joe Ingles found Royce O’Neale on an oop play with 9 minutes remaining. O’Neale’s stock only rose throughout this series, as we saw the sophomore be one of the most effective perimeter defenders on James Harden, who had another slow start in this one and finished just 10-of-26 from the field. O’Neale also showed out on the offensive end with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. I might even say Royce was Utah’s best player tonight. | @bucketsoneale00 ⤵️ 18p | 5r | 2a | 2 3pm | 61 fg% pic.twitter.com/VZaK7iZoQH — Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 25, 2019 In the clutch, we saw Donovan Mitchell struggle. With 1:09 remaining and the Jazz trailing by 1, Mitchell found Ricky Rubio for a wide open corner 3 to take the lead. He air balled it. Mitchell then fouled PJ Tucker on the defensive rebound. When Tucker missed both free throws, Mitchell had the ball in his hands again with a chance to take the lead. He was stripped driving the lane by Eric Gordon, and subsequently fouled Gordon as well. Two unnecessary fouls sandwiched a turnover with the game on the line. It was not a banner performance from the young star, as he finished with 5 turnovers and had 12 points on 22 shots. I wouldn’t bet against Mitchell’s future, however, and if anyone is selling his stock, I will buy it all. Tonight, along with the missed tying shot at the buzzer in game 3, will just add fuel to the fire of Spida’s work ethic and, in turn, his budding stardom. Bright days are ahead. Still, this game wouldn’t have come to leaning on Mitchell for late-game heroics if the Jazz could have made a few more wide open shots. We watched Utah struggle to hit open shots from the opening tip of game 1 and tonight was no different. The Jazz were a measly 9-of-38 from behind the arc, just 23.7%, and 37.2% from the field. At the end of the day, the final game of the Utah Jazz’s season confirmed yet again what we already knew. This team was full of character, low on quit and perhaps Utah’s easiest roster to root for ever. It was also deeply flawed, and this summer Dennis Lindsey’s number one priority should be to collect shooters like it’s going out of style.<doc-sep>HOUSTON — In a series where their shots weren’t falling like normal, the Houston Rockets managed to close it out with some tough defence. James Harden scored 26 points and the Rockets outlasted the Utah Jazz 100-93 on Wednesday night to win their first-round playoff series 4-1. Houston advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the third straight season and will face the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Golden State Warriors series. The Rockets had 12 steals and 12 blocks, the first playoff game where they had double figures in both since Game 5 of the 1994 Western Conference finals, just before they went on to win their first title. "We didn’t make as many shots as we wanted to … but these last few games we hung our hat on defence," Harden said. Ricky Rubio cut Houston’s lead to 94-93 on a jump shot with about a minute left. P.J. Tucker missed two free throws, but grabbed a loose ball seconds later and was fouled again. This time he made both shots to make it 96-93. Harden blocked a shot by Ruby Gobert on Utah’s next possession and he made two free throws to extend the lead to 98-93 with 38 seconds left. Donovan Mitchell, who was just 4 of 22, missed a 3-pointer after that and Chris Paul added two more free throws to secure the victory. "We didn’t want to go back to Utah," Paul said. "We wanted to take care of business tonight. All night we were talking about energy. It’s always hard to beat a team and close them out." The Rockets got a solid game from Clint Capela, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. He acknowledged having trouble breathing in the Game 4 loss because of an upper respiratory infection and was held to just four points. "I felt a lot better," Capela said. "I definitely felt like another person than (I did) the last game." After scoring 31 points to lead Utah to the victory in Game 4, Mitchell managed just 12 points on a night he missed all nine of his 3-point attempts. "I’m upset but I’m going to be better," the second-year player said. "Simply put. I wasn’t tonight and I’ll be better." Jazz coach Quin Snyder lamented the difficulties of dealing with a veteran coach like Mike D’Antoni and perennial All-Stars Paul and Harden. "They’re so cerebral that they’re able to find weaknesses in your defence," he said. Harden struggled to get going early and didn’t score in the first quarter. But after missing his first seven shots and 11 of his first 12 attempts, he finally found a rhythm. Royce O’Neal came off the bench to lead Utah with 18 points, Rubio had 17 and Jae Crowder added 15. Gobert wasn’t much of a factor in this one, scoring just nine points with 10 rebounds. The Jazz opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 77-75 lead with 9 minutes left. Rubio had two steals and a basket to help Utah go on top. Houston ended its scoring drought after that, scoring the next five points, capped by a three-point play from Harden to make it 80-77. Rubio made a 3-pointer for Utah before Paul scored five quick points to extend Houston’s advantage to 85-80 with 7 minutes left. Houston trailed by seven late in the second quarter before using a 14-3 run to lead by four entering the third. Harden scored eight of his 10 first-half points during that run. The Rockets kept it going to start the third, using a 10-2 spurt to make it 56-44 with about 10 minutes left in the quarter. Harden and Tucker had 3-pointers in that span and Capela added a dunk. Danuel House made a 3-pointer and Harden added a layup seconds later to leave Houston up by 11 later in the quarter. But O’Neal made a 3 soon after that to before Mitchell added a three-point play to get Utah within 68-63 with about 2 minutes left in the third. Austin Rivers ended Utah’s run with a 3-pointer to extend Houston’s lead to 71-63. The Jazz cut the lead to 4 with less than 30 seconds left in the third after scoring four straight points, but Nene made a basket at the buzzer to leave Houston up 75-69 entering the fourth. MITCHELL’S PERFORMANCE Harden and Paul were complimentary of Mitchell despite his struggles on Wednesday night and know he has a bright future. "He’s confident," Harden said. "You see what he did last game. He’s capable of taking over a game. Once he gets more comfortable in his role … the sky’s the limit for him." THEY SAID IT D’Antoni on his team’s win: "Everybody contributed something and it’s by their heart and just their tenacity to get the win. Going forward we’re going to need the same thing." TIP-INS Jazz: Utah made 9 of 38 3-pointers. … Joe Ingles had 11 points and nine assists. … Rubio had 11 assists. Rockets: Tucker set a playoff career-high with four blocks. … Paul and Gordon had 15 points apiece. … Houston made 13 3-pointers. … The Rockets had 12 steals.<doc-sep>
EMBED >More News Videos Chris Paul struts into Toyota Center before Game 5 vs. Utah HOUSTON, Texas -- James Harden scored 26 points and the Houston Rockets outlasted the Utah Jazz 100-93 on Wednesday night to win their first-round playoff series 4-1.The Rockets advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the third straight season, and will face the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Golden State Warriors series.Ricky Rubio cut Houston's lead to 94-93 on a jump shot with about a minute left. P.J. Tucker missed two free throws, but grabbed a loose ball seconds later and was fouled again. This time he made both shots to make it 96-93.Harden blocked a shot by Ruby Gobert on Utah's next possession and he made two free throws to extend the lead to 98-93 with 38 seconds left.Donovan Mitchell, who was just 4 of 22, missed a 3-pointer after that and Chris Paul added two more free throws to secure the victory.The Rockets were helped by a solid game from Clint Capela, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. He acknowledged that he was having trouble breathing in the Game 4 loss because of an upper respiratory infection and was held to just four points.After scoring 31 points to lead Utah to the victory in Game 4, Mitchell managed just 12 points on a night he missed all nine of his 3-point attempts.Harden struggled to get going early and didn't score in the first quarter. But after missing his first seven shots and 11 of his first 12 attempts, he finally found a rhythm.Royce O'Neal came off the bench to lead Utah with 18 points, Rubio had 17 and Jae Crowder added 15. Gobert wasn't much of a factor in this one, scoring just nine points with 10 rebounds.The Jazz opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 77-75 lead with nine minutes left. Rubio had two steals and a basket to help Utah go on top.Houston ended its scoring drought after that, scoring the next five points, capped by a three-point play from Harden to make it 80-77.Rubio made a 3-pointer for Utah before Paul scored five quick points to extend Houston's advantage to 85-80 with seven minutes left.Houston trailed by 7 late in the second quarter before using a 14-3 run to lead by four entering the third. Harden scored eight of his 10 first-half points during that run. The Rockets kept it going to start the third, using a 10-2 spurt to make it 56-44 with about 10 minutes left in the quarter. Harden and Tucker had 3-pointers in that span and Capela added a dunk.Danuel House made a 3-pointer and Harden added a layup seconds to leave Houston up by 11 later in the quarter. But O'Neal made a 3 soon after that, before Mitchell added a three-point play to get Utah within 68-63 with about two minutes left in the third.Austin Rivers ended Utah's run with a 3-pointer to extend Houston's lead to 71-63.The Jazz cut the lead to 4 with less than 30 seconds left in the third after scoring four straight points, but Nene made a basket at the buzzer to leave Houston up 75-69 entering the fourth.Jazz: Utah made 9 of 38 3-pointers. Joe Ingles had 11 points and nine assists. Rubio had 11 assists.Rockets: Tucker set a playoff career-high with four blocks. Paul and Gordon had 15 points apiece. Houston made 13 3-pointers. The Rockets had 12 steals.