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Jabari Smith Jr. puts up 31 as Rockets rumble past Jazz

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NBA: Utah Jazz at Houston RocketsFeb 23, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) grabs a defensive rebound against Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Jabari Smith Jr. scored a game-high 31 points, Kevin Durant and Tari Eason chipped in double-doubles and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 125-105 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Monday.

Smith shot 12 of 17, drilled six 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds to ignite the Rockets, who won for the fourth time in six games. Durant paired 18 points with a season-high 12 assists while Eason logged 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Amen Thompson added 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds for the Rockets, who dominated the glass with a plus-16 margin.

Houston’s Alperen Sengun flirted with a triple-double (16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists). Reed Sheppard tallied 15 points on five 3-pointers off the bench.

Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points but missed 9 of 10 from behind the arc for the Jazz, who played without Keyonte George (ankle), their second-leading scorer. Brice Sensabaugh posted 26 points and four treys as Utah took its third loss in a row.

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Behind Smith, the Rockets erased an early turnover-fueled deficit with a hail of 3-pointers. Utah, courtesy of its full-court pressure, seized a quick 9-6 lead before Smith caught fire. Smith scored 14 first-quarter points on four 3-pointers and a fastbreak dunk, and Houston carried a 38-22 lead into the second period after drilling 8 of 13 from behind the arc.

Durant, who nailed a 3-pointer just before the period expired, and Sheppard hit two 3-pointers each in the first.

The Rockets missed all three of their 3-point tries in the second but countered with a whopping 26 points in the paint. The Jazz opened the second with a 13-2 blitz that shaved the deficit to 40-35, only for the Rockets to respond with a flurry of transition baskets.

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Durant was the catalyst of the fastbreak attack. He recorded six assists in the second quarter, and Houston scored 14 fastbreak points in the period. Thompson sank a floater in the lane off a Sengun screen for a 58-37 lead with 3:58 to go in the second, and Houston took a 68-47 lead into halftime.

Smith gave the Rockets an 86-56 advantage on a fadeaway jumper with 5:22 left in the third quarter.

Houston eventually led by as many as 33 points. On the plus side for the Jazz, they converted 27 Rockets turnovers into 34 points.

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–Field Level Media

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NASCAR hands out major penalties for Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain after pre race inspection for Cup Series race at Bristol

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Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain and three other drivers will start on the back foot at Bristol Motor Speedway. The teams have lost pit selection and a crew member after failing NASCAR’s pre-race inspections.

Of the five drivers, Larson and Chastain are the only ones to start among the top-10. Chastain has qualified in sixth, while Larson trails him by two spots. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney put his car on top with a top speed of 127.064 mph.

Notably, Chastain and Larson are the only drivers from their respective teams to make the top-10. Larson is also competing in the O’Reilly race in preparation for Sunday.

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NASCAR reporter Toby Christie shared the list of penalties on X.

“Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Cole Custer, and Chad Finchum will be without their car chiefs and will lose pit selection after two pre-race inspection fails. Michael McDowell (also failed twice) will lose pit selection and has had an engineer ejected,” he wrote.

Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Cole Custer, and Chad Finchum will be without their car chiefs and will lose pit selection after two pre-race inspection fails. Michael McDowell (also failed twice) will lose pit selection and has had an engineer ejected. #NASCAR

Kyle Larson is looking to end his nearly year-long winless streak. The Hendrick Motorsports driver admitted that wins are tough to come by.

The two-time Cup champion keeps winning in sprint cars, however. He last won the High Limit Series season opener at Las Vegas, beating the likes of HMS prodigy Corey Day.

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Sunday’s Food City 500 is scheduled for 3 PM ET. Fans can watch the race on FS1 and HBO Max, or listen to radio updates on SiriusXM NASCAR radio.


Kyle Larson compares heart rate between NASCAR and sprint car races

Kyle Larson recently went over his heart rate at NASCAR and sprint car races. In a press conference at Bristol, Larson was asked about his Fitbit stats at tracks like Daytona.

“Average would probably only be like 135,” Larson responded, “but like you go to Bristol or something, and it’ll probably be an average of 165, you know, because there’s just more action and you’re like physically working a little harder.”

“And then sprint cars. It’s like 197 or higher. Yeah, if a race goes green, you know, seven- minute race. Like, you’ll be more worn out for that than a three and a half hour NASCAR race,” he added.

Kyle Larson has racked up impressive stats at Bristol. The No.5 driver has nabbed two consecutive wins and five top-5 finishes in the Next Gen Era. He has won thrice at the half-mile concrete, with three runner-up finishes to boot.

Larson had his most dominant outing during the 2024 Bristol Night Race, where he swept both stages and led 462 laps up front. The Californian replicated the feat in 2025 and led 411 laps with two stage wins.

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His last race at the track, however, saw him finishing a paltry 32nd.