Utah Jazz: Earl Watson's superb performance spoiled by defeat

SALT LAKE CITY — Jazz guard Earl Watson flirted with a triple-double against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, and it would have been the first time a Utah player pulled off the feat in nearly three years.

He couldn't have cared less.

The only numbers that mattered to Watson in Utah's 97-96 loss to Houston were the ones on the final scoreboard.

"I don't care about triple-doubles or scoring points, none of that," Watson said. 'I just care about winning. We lost the game, so that was tough. It's not an individual game, so to me that goes out the window."

Watson played a season-high 45 minutes and had 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Rockets. He came close to reaching career-highs in minutes played (47) and rebounds (10).

The numbers would have been much sweeter for Watson if the Jazz had pulled out the victory.

"It doesn't matter if I came out and scored 100 points and lost — it hurts," Watson said. "I hate losing. It's just a part of the game you learn, you deal with, and move forward."

Watson started his fourth straight game while Deron Williams continues to recover from a strained tendon in his right wrist. Coach Jerry Sloan probably didn't want to play Watson as much as he did, but he was satisfied with how the veteran backup performed.

"I thought he played his heart out to try to win," Sloan said. "He's been a good addition to our team to be able to step out there and play minutes. We have to keep him on the floor to try and compete."

Watson had a chance to seal the victory for the Jazz in the final seconds. With Utah up 96-94, he attempted a 3-pointer with 15.9 seconds left. He missed it, and Houston's Shane Battier got the rebound. After a Rockets timeout, Kevin Martin converted a three-point play to put Houston up with 6.9 seconds remaining.

"It felt good when it left my hands," Watson said of his missed 3-pointer. "Just missed it."

No one expected Watson to take on such an important role with the Jazz at this point in the season, but he's had to with Williams being out. He has played well for the most part in the four games he's started. After being plagued by foul trouble against the Bobcats on Monday, he rebounded with a nice performance against the Rockets.

"He pushes the ball a lot, gets us going offensively, gets some easy points — he makes sure to get us those and picks up the energy," said Jazz rookie Gordon Hayward, who joined Watson in the starting lineup on Wednesday and had 10 points. "He does a great job for us."

Watson, who played all but 28 seconds of the second half, said it would take some time to take any positives from the defeat.

"That's tough whenever you lose a game like that," he said. "You reflect, think of some positives, but right now the loss is just tough."

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com