Utah Jazz Team Report - March 29

(Basketball News) - Utah’s disappointing season continued on Monday as they were defeated by Houston at the Delta Center. Superstar Tracy McGrady scored 44 points to lead the Rockets to a 99-85 victory over the Jazz, who played the fourth contest of a season-high seven game homestand.

Mehmet Okur led the Jazz, who have lost 11 of their last 13 games overall, with 25 points in the loss to the Rockets. Matt Harpring finished with 18 points, while rookie Kirk Snyder netted 12 in 30 minutes of action.

Utah, which is 9-38 when it scores under 100 points this season, has scored under 100 points in 17 of its last 19 games. The Jazz are 4-11 in Wednesday games.

Okur has scored in double-digits in seven of his last 12 games. He is averaging 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his last 10 contests. The 6-11 center/forward has registered 17 double-doubles this season, and has scored 20 or more points 11 times.

The Jazz return to the court on Wednesday, as they will host the playoff- hopeful Denver Nuggets at the Delta Center. It will be the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Nuggets and Utah. The Jazz defeated Denver on November 6th on the road and two days later at the Delta Center, while the Nuggets beat Utah, 97-87, on February 8th at the Pepsi Center to snap a three- game series losing streak

Overall, Denver has won four of the last seven meetings, while the Jazz have won seven of 11 and 12 of the last 17 contests. The Nuggets have lost two straight, 16 of 17 and 22 of their last 24 at Utah.

The Jazz, who will host the Golden State Warriors on Friday and the Portland Trail Blazers on April 5th in the finale of the homestand, are just 15-20 at the Delta Center this season.

Utah, which is 22-48, has 12 games left on its schedule. The Jazz are scheduled to split their final contests evenly between the Delta Center and the road. All of the remaining games are against Western Conference clubs.