The Utah Jazz are back in shape, and Rudy Gobert's return only adds to their success.
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The Utah Jazz is on the track, and Rudy Gobert’s comeback makes them even better. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 30 points. In Utah’s 135-101 triumph over the Houston Rockets on Monday night, Bojan Bogdanovic had 22 points and Gobert had 14.
Gobert said, “I was antsy. … I couldn’t wait to get back on the court and be a part of what our team is doing now.” With a left calf injury, he missed nine games. Despite the fact that Gobert was removed with 6:33 remaining due to his second technical foul, the Jazz were a plus-19 in his 22 minutes on the court.
Bojan Bogdanovich say on Gobert’s comeback, “It’s great, just his presence. We all know how good he is, how important he is for this team both offensively and defensively. Offensively, rolling to the basket, grabbing those offensive boards and putbacks … and his defense, we all know what he does.”
In Utah‘s third straight win, Jordan Clarkson scored 16 points and Hassan Whiteside added 11 points and 14 rebounds. In his previous three games as a reserve, Whiteside has pulled down 49 rebounds.
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For the Rockets, who have now lost five straight games, Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, and Kevin Porter, Jr. each scored 14 points.
The Jazz finished 6-0 on their homestand, giving them a three-game lead over Dallas for the Western Conference’s fourth playoff berth. Three of the games had margins of victory of 23 points or more.
For the first time in 13 games, the Jazz had their usual starting lineup with Gobert’s return.
?| Tonight was a fun one ❤️?#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/udRQZvWLEH
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 15, 2022
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Without the big Frenchman, the Jazz defense dipped out of the top five early on, but they learned to play without him and held opponents at bay over the homestand.
For the most part, the Rockets shot well, but there was a lot of finger-pointing and back-and-forth following defensive lapses and missed passes. The Rockets have the poorest record in the Western Conference and have gone 1-9 since defeating the Jazz ten games ago.
Utah built a comfortable lead with a 16-0 run spanning the first and second quarters and led by as many as 31 points in the first half. Utah’s 78 points in the first half were a season-best.
Mitchell scored 30 points on just 15 field-goal attempts, including five 3-pointers and a 7-of-8 shooting percentage from the free-throw line.
Mike Conley had his worst shooting night of the season on Monday, missing all six 3-point tries and scoring just two points. Coach Quin Snyder of the Jazz, on the other hand, witnessed Conley making victory plays. Conley had 10 assists and four steals, and his presence on the court energised the Jazz attack.
