After dominating the Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert revealed that he had been battling sickness throughout the day, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Rudy Gobert confirmed his 23p/17r/3b performance came despite being sick all day pic.twitter.com/FN4JGp4bUj
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) March 17, 2019
Gobert sure didn't look the part though, as he mustered up whatever illness he was feeling and played his typical game against the Nets. The Stifle Tower played well on both sides of the floor and, as usual, secured the paint defensively for the Jazz.
The Frenchman finished the night with with 23 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes. He also shot 9-of-12 from the field, though he made just half of his 10 attempts from the free-throw line.
Nonetheless, it didn't take much for Utah to take care of the Nets, which dropped their second game in a row. Brooklyn raced out to an eight-point lead early in the game before the Jazz raced to 17-2 run, during which Rudy Gobert made a trio of buckets during that stretch.
Utah continued to lock the Nets up on defense, as they held them to 12 consecutive empty possession in a six-minute span from the first to the second quarter.
The Jazz ended the first half with a 17-point cushion going into the break and eventually expanded their lead to as much as 26 points midway through the third quarter.
Second-year star Donovan Mitchell led the charge for Utah with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting. He also drained four triples, grabbed six boards and dished out four assists to lead the Jazz to their 40th win of the season.
With 13 games remaining on the schedule and the ninth-placed Sacramento Kings falling off the rails, the Jazz are almost a lock to make their third straight postseason appearance.
However, Utah currently sits at 7th in the West and is still jockeying for position as they attempt to move up the standings and secure home-court advantage. Only three games separate the Jazz from the third place Houston Rockets.
Follow Us
Subscribe