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The Houston Rockets (53-29; 1-0) jumped all over the Utah Jazz (50-32; 0-1) in Game 1 and hope to continue riding that wave of momentum to a Game 2 victory when they continue their Western Conference First Round series at Toyota Center on Wednesday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT. If you want to watch a live stream of the game, you can do so via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
TNT is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including TNT.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages, all of which include TNT.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
Rockets vs Jazz Game 2 Preview
James Harden has to wait on the NBA Most Valuable Player announcement, but for now he will continue leading the Rockets, as they collectively attempt to navigate the rough waters of the Western Conference. Harden finished with a double-double (29 points, 10 assists) in Game 1, as did Clint Capela (16 points and 12 rebounds); Eric Gordon finished with 17 points, and three other Rockets scored in double figures.
The most important takeaway for Houston, however, was how simple it was to execute its offense in Game 1. Utah fell behind early, then 15 at halftime, and never came close to recovering in a disappointing 122-90 defeat to open up the postseason.
Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni continues to find creative methods to deploy Harden; during the season it was noted how Harden routinely likes moving left and utilizing a step-back jump shot. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, who coached his team to the second-most defensive efficient season behind the Milwaukee Bucks this season, continued using the strategy most coaches have used, and it didn’t work.
Snyder told reporters following Game 1 he will need to make adjustments for Harden.
“If you give up a dunk it feels a certain way. If you give up a three it can feel a certain way, but you’re going to give something up. We had some breakdowns in the halfcourt, no question. Some of that is going to happen, even when you’re good because of their ability to make plays. But I thought really in the first half and some in the second, too, our inability to secure a rebound or a loose ball when we did get a stop (proved detrimental).”
Houston is a snake, and if you cut the head (Harden) off, you will likely have success. Utah, though, needs a better effort from its bench in Game 2; Donovan Mitchell (19 points) and Ricky Rubio (15 points) did the most they could, but Jae Crowder (nine points on 1-of-9 shooting) and Kyle Korver (two points in 10 minutes) were relatively quiet, as was Joe Ingles (three points).
Rudy Golbert led the Jazz in scoring, recording a double-double (23 points, 12 rebounds) on an impressive 8-of-10 shooting performance, while protecting the rim. It would likely benefit Snyder sacrificing two-pointers if it prevents the Rockets from having Harden kick out beyond the arc and shoot threes — Houston finished Game 1 shooting 46.6% (15-of-41), and could improve from deep in Game 2.