Hayward, Gobert help Jazz jolt Pelicans
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored 23 points and collected seven rebounds while Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 15 rebounds to help the Utah Jazz pull away for an 88-83 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.
Joe Ingles chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Jazz. Utah (40-24) overcame sluggishness on offense over the final three quarters to notch its third straight victory.
Anthony Davis scored 20 points and collected 12 rebounds to lead the Pelicans. Jordan Crawford added 19 points in his New Orleans debut and DeMarcus Cousins chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds. New Orleans (25-39) lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Utah soared on offense while grounding the Pelicans with tough defense throughout the first half. New Orleans shot just 11-of-41 (26.8 percent) from the field before halftime and coughed up six turnovers in the first quarter alone. It opened the door for the Jazz to construct a big lead early.
They didn't let that opportunity go to waste. Utah jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind a layup and trio of free throws from Gobert. After the Pelicans trimmed their deficit to 14-10 on back-to-back 3-pointers from E'Twaun Moore and Cousins, Utah responded with a flurry of baskets to bury them again.
Starting with an alley-oop layup from Hayward, the Jazz scored on five straight possessions to go up 24-12. Ingles finished off the run with his first 3-pointer of the night.
Utah extended the lead to 34-16 early in the second quarter after Rodney Hood drained a 3-pointer and Raul Neto followed with a steal and layup.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Tim Frazier and Crawford helped ignite a 12-2 New Orleans run that cut Utah's lead to 36-28 with 5:17 left before halftime.
Both teams struggled with missed shots and turnovers in the third quarter. The Jazz and the Pelicans combined for 11 turnovers in the quarter and both shot under 40 percent from the field. It prevented Utah from extending its lead or New Orleans from closing the gap until well into the fourth quarter.
The Pelicans' offense came to life in the fourth quarter behind Crawford's shooting in the fourth quarter. He made jumpers on three straight possessions to cut Utah's lead to 72-69 with 5:09 remaining.
Utah answered with 3-pointers from Ingles and Hayward to keep New Orleans from erasing its deficit altogether. Then Gobert scored on a tip-in basket and Hood stole the ball and fed Ingles for a layup to put the Jazz up 83-73 with 1:51 left.
NOTES: G George Hill (toe soreness), F Joe Johnson (groin strain) and G Shelvin Mack (ankle sprain) did not play for the Jazz. ... Pelicans C Omer Asik missed his seventh straight game because of illness. ... Utah G Alec Burks pulled down a season-high eight rebounds -- all in the first half. ... New Orleans F Anthony Davis and C DeMarcus Cousins are the first teammates to each average 20 points and 10 rebounds per game since Tim Duncan and David Robinson did it in the 1997-98 season. ... Utah outscored New Orleans 20-8 in the paint in the first half.