The season series is tied at one game apiece. The road team won both times and dealt a bitter pill to swallow. Tomorrow should be an intense clash.

HOME TEAM: Utah Jazz (at home)

As one of the better defensive teams in the league, the Jazz are ranked sixth in points allowed (107.2 PAPG) and ninth in defensive efficiency. They also give up the fewest assists in the league at 20.7 per game, a low amount in today’s constant fast-paced action.

The Jazz won courtesy of a buzzer-beating three in their last meeting with the Houston Rockets. Bojan Bogdanovic, who was shut down for pretty much the entire game, buried an off-balance trifecta to help Utah go home with a squeaky 114-113 victory. It’s a W that will help their confidence.

Bogdanovic (21 PPG), along with All-Star teammates Donovan Mitchell (24.3 PPG) and Rudy Gobert (15.6 PPG, 14.6 RPG), remain as the marquee weapons. Sixth-man Jordan Clarkson is also in the mix as he has been hot lately. He scored 30 points on 12-for-19 shooting in that last match-up with the Rockets.

ROAD TEAM: Houston Rockets (35-20, 16-12 on the road)

The Rockets thrashed the Golden State Warriors in their return from the All-Star break on Friday, 135-105. It was their sixth win their last eight games. Three of the starters – James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Robert Covington – scored 20 or more points, while the bench got led by newcomer Jeff Green, who chipped in 17 points in his Rockets debut.

The win will be something to be get them going as they try to exact revenge on their last-second loss to the Jazz two weeks back. Westbrook tallied a 28-10-10 triple-double in that game, and Harden had a game-high 39 points on 54.5% shooting.

Houston delivered a big upset during its last visit to Utah. Without Harden and Westbrook, the supporting cast overcame the Jazz starters for a 126-117 win thanks to Eric Gordon exploding for a career-high 50 points. Danuel House and Austin Rivers provided good offense as well and each posted 21 points.

PREDICTION:

The Jazz win a hard-fought battle, 114-111. The backcourt match-up should be pretty interesting and I expect a healthy scoring duel.

Gobert is a towering force in the paint against the small ball Rockets, so he ought to pile up a nice double-double, if not a 20-20.