Jazz coach Quin Snyder praised the offensive improvement of Gobert, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
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Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-105 on Wednesday night with star Donovan Mitchell out with a sore back. Portland’s Damian Lillard and Norman Powell each scored 32 points. The Trail Blazers were missing seven players in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols for the second straight game.
?| Big stats for the Big Man ?
22p | 14r | 2b #TakeNote | @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/FwwfikEw3S— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 30, 2021
Utah’s dominance started on the inside and continued all night long, outscoring Portland 74-30 in the paint. Jazz coach Quin Snyder praised the offensive improvement of Gobert, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
”You can credit Rudy Gobert with this, he’s been stronger with the ball,” Snyder said of his star big man, who was 8 for 10 from the field. ”He’s been strong with the catch and then worrying about scoring after the catch. He’s also getting to the line more.”
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Utah’s Hassan Whiteside had 15 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while reserve forward Rudy Gay pitched in 21 points.
”Just the size was overwhelming for us, but I did like that we competed,” Lillard said of his team’s play. ”But obviously, there was only so much that we could have done about that.”
Wednesday’s win was Utah’s eighth consecutive road victory, helping them improve to 12-3 away from Salt Lake City.
”When you’re on the road, it feels like more of a mission,” Gobert said. ”Sometimes when you are at home you get a little bit more distracted and it’s not as good. We have to take more advantage and we have to look fresher at home.”
Powell was key to keeping the Blazers close, scoring 25 of his 32 points in the first half. Powell’s 25 points marked the highest-scoring half by a Blazer this season, but the outside shooting wasn’t enough to overcome Utah’s success around the basket.
Lillard’s 3-pointer cut Utah’s lead to 76-70 with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter, the closest Portland had been since the first half.
A 3-pointer by Portland’s Tony Snell at the halftime buzzer cut Utah’s lead to 69-59 after the Jazz led by 16 during the first half. With Utah up 111-91 with 4:59 left in the game, Lillard was called for a technical foul. He was then subbed out for the remainder of the game.
