Utah Jazz basketball: Non-starters show the way in win over Rockets

Jefferson also had 16 rebounds in his eighth double-double, helping to contribute to Utah's 30-19 fast-break advantage.

Despite a quick pace, the Jazz ended up hitting only 40.2 percent from the field after making 50 percent in the first half. But the Rockets were even more woeful on offense as Utah bottled up their pick-and-roll and held Houston to 34.9 percent shooting a night after they dropped a high-scoring game (119-108) to the Lakers in Los Angeles.

"It all starts with defense for us," Hayward said. "Once we get stops, we can push it. When we do that, we've definitely got the athletes and the versatility. We're pretty good when we do that."

The Rockets played most of the game without new star James Harden, who left in the first half with just six points on 1-for-6 shooting after suffering an upper respiratory infection.

Pattrick Patterson led Houston (4-7) with 19 points, while new Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin fell short of his Linsanity billing with just 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

The Jazz, winners of two straight and owners of a .500 record of 6-6, will take the win in this rare home game during a road-heavy early schedule.

"It's huge for us, especially coming from a road trip," said Hayward, two nights after the Jazz finished off a 2-2 East Coast trip. "We needed this win and I think it was a confidence booster for us. We can carry this momentum into the next game."

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