Belt game 4,649 · May 27, 1997 · playoffs
Utah Jazz take the belt
Utah Jazz beat Houston Rockets 96–91 at home to start reign 2,047 of the NBA belt, the 40th for the franchise.
Houston Rockets had held it since May 23, 1997, with 1 defense over 4 days.
Utah Jazz held it for 5 days and 1 defense, then lost it to Chicago Bulls on June 1, 1997.
2,047Reign number
40Team's reign
1Defenses
5Days held
Box score
Houston Rockets
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 42 | 33 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11-18 | 0-0 | 11-13 |
| Clyde Drexler | 36 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5-15 | 0-5 | 5-6 |
| Matt Maloney | 34 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5-9 | 4-6 | 0-0 |
| Charles Barkley | 39 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3-6 | 2-3 | 2-4 |
| Sedale Threatt | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 2-2 |
| Mario Elie | 39 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1-6 | 0-4 | 4-5 |
| Eddie Johnson | 20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-7 | 0-4 | 0-1 |
| Charles Jones | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Randy Livingston | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Matt Bullard | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Othella Harrington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Kevin Willis | 12 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Utah Jazz
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karl Malone | 44 | 29 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11-22 | 0-0 | 7-8 |
| John Stockton | 32 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6-7 | 1-1 | 4-4 |
| Bryon Russell | 40 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4-11 | 1-7 | 4-4 |
| Jeff Hornacek | 35 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3-9 | 0-2 | 5-5 |
| Antoine Carr | 20 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Howard Eisley | 15 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3-6 | 1-2 | 3-3 |
| Greg Ostertag | 21 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Greg Foster | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Stephen Howard | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Chris Morris | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Shandon Anderson | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Adam Keefe | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).