The Utah Jazz were blown out by the Houston Rockets in a one-sided game that ended 101-129 at the Delta Center in Utah. Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen were the two players that the Rockets targeted on defense and successfully managed to give George one of the worst performances in modern NBA history as he finished scoreless, while Markkanen scored 10 points less than his season average (28.8 points per game).
Keyonte George was forced to play only 19 minutes on a rough night for the Jazz before Will Hardy decided to end his night early in the third quarter. He finished with 0 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 block, missing all of his 6 shots in the game, and astonishingly, 8 turnovers on a night where his team needed him to step up. George had a net +/- rating of -27, which is one of the worst +/- games recorded this season.
Keyonte George needs to be investigated IMMEDIATELY 😭 pic.twitter.com/xPw0LVmmbm
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) December 1, 2025
Following this game, George has written his name on the wrong side of NBA history books. He has become the player with the second most turnovers without scoring a single point in NBA history (only topped by John Lucas of the Pistons, who had 9 turnovers without scoring in 1981).
The young starlet has averaged 22.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 44.0% from the field so far in 2025-26. He looked set to take a potential All-Star leap this season.
His consistency helped him become a reliable second option for the young Jazz roster behind Lauri Markkanen, and he can become the franchise player if Markkanen gets traded. Such struggling games are a common occurrence for players in midseason, and his confidence should not take a big hit due to this.
George was listed as questionable for this game due to an illness, but eventually played only for limited minutes. The Rockets are arguably one of the top five defensive teams in the NBA presently, and struggling to score against them when you’re not at peak fitness should teach George the importance of resting and listening to your body.
Therefore, this should be a key lesson for George to bounce back stronger in the future and not spiral downward from here.
Kevin Durant Says Stopping Keyonte George Was Key In Rockets’ Win Against Jazz
Following the win, Kevin Durant spoke to the Rockets’ sideline reporter, Vanessa Richardson, and explained how the Rockets managed to get this win against the Jazz. He mainly highlighted that the Rockets were only concerned about two players on the Jazz roster, Markkanen and George.
“Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen have been playing phenomenal basketball, all-star level basketball, so we had to knock out the heads of the snake,” said Durant while acknowledging how good the Jazz franchise has been this season.
“I don’t know if Keyonte scored tonight; he had like eight turnovers. Lauri was ten points under his average, so it was a group effort to take those guys out and make the game tougher for everybody else,” said Durant on how the Rockets put a halt to the Jazz’s offense.
Durant himself finished the game with an efficient 25 points, going 10-of-14 from the floor (71.4%). He also had seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals in this game.
The Jazz have fallen to a 6-13 record for the regular season, while the Rockets improved to a 13-4 record on the first night of a back-to-back clash between the teams. Therefore, the Jazz fans will hope that this game doesn’t impact his confidence against the Rockets in their second game today and against the league in general.
