Indiana Pacers hit all right notes in 121-94 blowout over Utah Jazz
INDIANAPOLIS — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points, Domantas Sabonis nearly had a triple-double and the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 121-94 on Monday night.
Sabonis had 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Indiana won its third straight — this one without All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, who sat out with a sore right knee.
Article continues after this advertisementRicky Rubio matched his season high with 28 points to lead Utah, which has lost three of four and looked weary on the final night of a five-game trip. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 11 rebounds in a game that wasn’t close after the first quarter.
Utah coach Quin Snyder pulled his starters midway through the fourth.
Indiana used an 11-2 spurt to take a 19-12 lead and scored the first seven points of the second quarter to make it 39-19.
Article continues after this advertisementWhen Rubio warmed up, the Jazz came back. The Spaniard scored 14 straight points for his team during one stretch, and Joe Ingles’ 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 47-41.
Indiana answered with four straight points, closed the half with a 57-47 lead and started the second half on a 9-0 run to make it 71-53.
Rubio responded again by scoring 10 of Utah’s 12 points during a four-minute stretch in the third quarter. That made it a 12-point game, but Utah never got closer.
Myles Turner had 12 points, six rebounds, and three blocks for the Pacers.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Went 2-3 on the trip. … Gobert has 15 double-doubles this season and went 5 of 8 from the field after starting the night with the top field-goal percentage (70.2) in the NBA. … Rubio was 10 of 13 from the field and 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. … Jae Crowder scored 14 points and was the only other Utah player in double figures. … Ingles played in his 239th consecutive games, the second-longest active streak. … The Jazz finished with 18 turnovers.
Pacers: Have won four of five and improved to 3-4 against Western Conference teams. … Tyreke Evans made his first start with Indiana and had eight points and five assists in place of Oladipo. … Bogdanovic went 3 of 4 on 3s. … Rookie Aaron Holiday scored 19 points while Thaddeus Young and Doug McDermott each had 12.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Plays its only home game in a 13-day stretch when Sacramento comes to town Wednesday.
Pacers: Will try to extend their winning streak Wednesday in Charlotte.