Utah Jazz's hopes of securing a spot in the Western Conference final eight has become brighter after the team got the better of the Houston Rockets with an 89-87 win at the Toyota Center on Wednesday night.

"It feels good to know we're still in it," Derrick Favors, who made the winning dunk shot for the Jazz in the dying seconds of the game, said. "But we're not in there yet so we've got to continue to work hard, play hard and keep winning games."

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Utah's hero had a double-double game performance of 17 points and 15 rebounds to go along with four assists and three blocked shots. Favors went 7 for 15 from the field and played for 36:09 minutes.

Starter Gordon Hayward scored 22 points had team-highs of five assists and four steals, while Shelvin Mack and Trevor Booker chipped in with 16 points and 10 points respectively for the Jazz, who improved to 35 wins and 36 losses record.

With the win, the Gail Miller-owned basketball squad secured a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for the seventh place. The Jazz also secured a half-game lead in the standings over the Rockets, who dropped to 35-37.

The Rockets were leading by as many as 18 points in the second half of the game before the Jazz rallied and took the lead with about four minutes left. The game became tight and both teams exchanged the lead several times before James Harden made an assist pass to Dwight Howard who tied the game to 87-all on a dunk shot with 22.3 seconds remaining.

With the ball possession, Rodney Hood then found Favors under the basket and slam the ball to give Utah the upper hand. The Rockets had a chance to win the game, but Harden missed his 3-point attempt as the time expired.

Harden led Houston with 26 points while the Chinese Basketball Association foreign MVP Michael Beasley added 10. Howard finished the game with just five points and eight rebounds.

TagsMichael Beasley, cba, NBA, houston rockets, Utah Jazz, derrick Favors, James Harden, Dwight Howard