THE Houston Rockets knocked off the Utah Jazz 118-98 Wednesday night led by another scintillating performance by their MVP candidate James Harden, who had 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Rockets to a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Harden, who recorded his third career playoff triple-double, had 25 points by halftime in a game the Jazz were all but out after the first two quarters.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Utah.

It’s the second straight season in which Houston has met Utah in the postseason, after facing the Jazz in the second round last year. The Rockets also won Game 1 of that series easily before losing the second game at home. They ended up winning the series in five games but talked about the importance of maintaining focus after their 32-point win in Game 1 this season to avoid another such letdown.

It was clear early that they wouldn’t have that problem this time around.

Harden controlled the game from the start as the Rockets raced out to a 39-19 lead after a first quarter where he scored just two points fewer than the Jazz. Houston made 6 of 13 3-pointers in the first and Utah hit just one of its 14 tries. The Rockets didn’t let up in the second quarter and had pushed their advantage to 70-44 at halftime.

The Jazz got 17 points each from Ricky Rubio and Royce O’Neale. Second-year star Donovan Mitchell vowed to do more after scoring 19 points in Game 1, finishing with five turnovers and no assists.

The Jazz head home needing to turn things around quickly to avoid a series that looks to be headed for a sweep.(SD-Agencies)