Jazz complete season sweep of Pelicans
SALT LAKE CITY -- Rudy Gobert scored 20 points, collected 19 rebounds and blocked five shots to lead the Utah Jazz to a 108-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.
Rodney Hood also scored 20 points while Joe Ingles added 19 and George Hill tacked on 17. That trio combined to make a dozen 3-pointers. Utah (45-29) swept the season series 3-0 after dominating from the perimeter for four quarters.
Anthony Davis scored 36 points, collected 17 rebounds and had three blocks to lead New Orleans. Jrue Holiday added 19 points. The Pelicans (31-43) lost for only the third time in nine games, but they fell 4 1/2 games back of the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets, who are tied for the final Western Conference playoff position.
Gobert began to dominate on both ends in the first quarter. He totaled six points, six rebounds and four blocks in the opening quarter alone.
The Jazz did not let those efforts go to waste. Utah opened up a 24-15 lead with 3:50 left in first quarter behind a 9-0 run. Utah scored baskets on four straight possessions starting with a jumper from Hill. Joe Johnson then beat the clock with a turnaround jumper and threaded a pass from the perimeter to set up a one-hand dunk from Gobert. Hill finally capped things off with a 3-pointer.
New Orleans trimmed the gap to 26-21 on a basket from Alexis Ajinca. The Jazz answered with a 13-0 run to blow the game open early in the second quarter. Hood punctuated the run with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving Utah a 39-21 lead with 9:48 left before halftime.
The Pelicans answered with a 12-2 run to cut the Jazz lead back to single digits. They pulled within 41-33 on back-to-back baskets from Davis. Ingles immediately buried back-to-back 3-pointers to quell the run.
New Orleans strung together another rally behind the efforts of Davis. He scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the quarter to keep the Pelicans within striking distance. His final basket cut Utah's lead to 54-51 with 1:17 remaining in the half.
It helped New Orleans finally overtake the Jazz in the third quarter. The Pelicans went ahead 61-59 on a tip-in basket from Solomon Hill.
Utah didn't let them stay in front for long. The Jazz heated up again from the perimeter and took the lead again on a Hill 3-pointer. Then Ingles and Johnson buried back-to-back 3-pointers to fuel a 10-0 run. Gobert capped off the run with a hammer dunk, putting Utah ahead 78-65.
The Pelicans drew no closer than six points in the fourth quarter. They cut the deficit to 102-96 on a 3-pointer from Davis. Utah answered with a jumper from Johnson and a 3-pointer from Hood to seal the win in the final minute.
NOTES: F Gordon Hayward (quad contusion) and G Alec Burks (personal reasons) did not play for Utah. ... New Orleans C DeMarcus Cousins (ankle sprain) missed his second straight game. ... Jazz G Joe Ingles shot 5 of 5 from long distance. As a team, Utah went 15 of 27 from the perimeter. ... Pelicans PF Anthony Davis scored just 32 combined points in his previous two games against the Jazz this season. He averaged 22.7 points over the three games. ... Utah C Rudy Gobert earned his 52nd double-double of the season.