The battle for playoff positions has become tougher as clubs are trying to win every game to secure a spot in the race of eight.

Western Conference teams Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz fought their heart out to get the better of each other, but at the final buzzer, the Jazz came off victorious with a 117-114 overtime triumph at the Vivint Smart Home Arena on Tuesday night.

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Forward Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 28 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in 40.13 minutes on the court, while shooting 6-of-7 from the field and hitting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc region.

The win moved the Salt Lake City-based club into eighth rank in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the Rockets.

James Harden, who is the league's second best leading scorer, dropped 42 points for Houston, and Jason Terry, the 2009 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, sUnk a trey with 10.8 seconds to play in the regulation to tie the score at 106 and force another five minutes extension.

During the overtime period, the Jazz were able to contain the Rockets to just eight points, while they produced 11 points to get the edge of the game, with Derrick Favors' putback with 11.8 ticks remaining in the game clock.

"It is not about where we are in the standings, it is about us continuing to fight and play the right way," Harden, who registered his eighth 40-pointS, said.

"We made some tough shots. Rodney Hood made a couple of tough 3s off of the dribble. It is a tough loss for us but we played well and competed at a high level."

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