Rudy Gobert scored a season-high 27 points and collected 10 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 125-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
Mar 25, 2019; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) shoots the ball ahead of Phoenix Suns forward Dragan Bender (35) during the first quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Gobert broke the NBA single season dunk record while picking up his 59th double-double of the season.
Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio added 18 points apiece for the Jazz. Utah won for the seventh time in eight games. As a team, the Jazz shot 55.8 percent from the field and outscored Phoenix 70-32 in the paint.
Devin Booker scored a season-high 59 points on 19-for-34 shooting to lead the Suns. Booker also went 16 of 17 from the free throw line. It wasn’t enough to prevent Phoenix from losing for the seventh time in the last nine games.
Utah used a 10-0 run to surge ahead of Phoenix 20-14 late in the first quarter. Rubio sparked the run with a pair of free throws and a basket. Both teams shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter, but the Jazz gained an edge after going 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Things spiraled out of control for the Suns during the second quarter. Utah opened the quarter on a 19-4 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Mitchell, Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder. Mitchell finished off the run with back-to-back baskets that gave the Jazz a 45-25 lead.
Booker scored 18 of his team’s 22 points in the second quarter. He helped the Suns cut the deficit to 49-38 at one point.
Joe Ingles drained a 3-pointer and then Rubio and Gobert followed with back-to-back baskets to keep Phoenix from cutting the lead to single digits. Gobert’s basket and free throw put the Jazz up 57-40.
Utah held onto its double-digit lead throughout the second half.
—Field Level Media