Houston Rockets, Chris Paul
Feb 26, 2018; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul (3) dribbles the ball as Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) defends during the first quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. USA TODAY Sports / Russ Isabella

The Houston Rockets (47-13), who own the best record in the NBA, extended their winning streak to 13 games on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) with an impressive 96-85 road victory over the Utah Jazz (31-30). Entering the game, the Jazz held a 19-10 record at home and were given good odds to end Houston's streak of victories.

At one point, Quin Snyder's team was primed to beat the Jazz and move an inch closer to the eighth seed in the Western Conference. When rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell drove to the basket for a dunk with 4:30 left in the first half, Utah claimed a 44-29 left. The Rockets missed 15 of their first 17 3-pointers attempts and Utah's stifling perimeter defence proved too much for Mike D'Antoni's team.

However, veteran forward Trevor Ariza made back-to-back threes to give Houston their first lead of the second half at 59-59. Thereafter, the Rockets played lockdown defence to help stretch the lead to 77-65 early in the fourth quarter, bolstered by a 14-2 run. Despite shooting an uncharacteristic 27 percent from the three-point arc (9/33), the Rockets prevailed in a low-scoring game.

James Harden, the frontrunner to win MVP, finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Luc Mbah a Moute contributed 17 points and 3 rebounds off the bench aside from locking up on defence against the likes of Mitchell and Joe Ingles.

After the win, Mbah a Moute revealed that he watched tapes of recent Utah games to take advantage of mismatches. "I just slowed down and took what the defence gave me. It's always fun to make them pay for a mismatch and make shots. I watched the tapes this morning and saw how I could exploit it if ever that kind of matchup happened again. ... The opportunity presented itself so I was already prepared for it and I took advantage," the veteran wing said, via ESPN.

Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni hailed it the most impressive victory of the year. "This is probably our best win of the year because we were short-handed and we grind it out. I didn't know how we were going to win, and they figured out a way," said the offensive-minded coach.

For the Jazz, big man Rudy Gobert led the way with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Rookie star Donovan Mitchell endured a cold shooting night, going 1/9 from three and 6/15 overall for his 15 points.