NBA: Rudy Gobert shakes off injury, lifts Jazz over Pistons
(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 17, 2022 Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kateyln MULCAHY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Rudy Gobert scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Bojan Bogdanovic logged 23 points as the Utah Jazz earned a 111-101 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
Gobert was questionable to play earlier in the day because of ankle soreness, but the three-time Defensive Player of the Year made 8 of 11 field-goal attempts and blocked four shots to help the Jazz pick up a much-needed win.
Utah, which again played without Donovan Mitchell (concussion protocol), had lost two straight games, six of seven overall and three consecutive at home. That rough stretch included a 126-116 defeat at Detroit on Jan. 10, when the Jazz blew a 22-point lead.
📹| Rudy with a season-high 24 points 🔮#TakeNote | @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/wExuxn4BNm
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 22, 2022
Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley also helped fill the scoring void left by Mitchell’s absence, providing 20 and 19 points, respectively.
Rookie Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 25 points and five assists. He also had six rebounds.
Former Jazz forward Trey Lyles scored 16 off the bench. Rodney McGruder had 15 and Saddiq Bey 13 as the Pistons dropped to 1-2 on their four-game Western Conference road trip.
The Jazz led 27-26 after one quarter and were sparked by Gobert in the second quarter to take a 60-52 lead into the break. Gobert had 13 of his 15 first-half points in the second.
📹| Bojan tonight: 23p | 6r | 3 3pm | 2a | 1s#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/ixq6ioidG1
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 22, 2022
Detroit fought back in the second half, using a 13-4 run out of the locker room to go ahead 65-64.
Utah regained the lead and built it to double digits at 85-75 thanks to an 11-1 run.
That advantage didn’t last too long for the Jazz, though. The Pistons crept back to within two points after Lyles drained a 3-pointer to make it 91-89 Utah with 9:36 left in the game.
Josh Jackson made it a one-point game by sinking a floater with 6:33 to go.
Gobert followed with a put-back bucket, a dunk and a free throw to spark a 9-2 run for a 104-96 lead with 4:19 remaining.
