Playing their last home game of the decade, the Utah Jazz overcame a slow start to pull away for a 104-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Five Utah players scored in double figures, with Donovan Mitchell (23 points) and Jordan Clarkson (20 points) leading the way. Rudy Gobert recorded his 24th double-double of the season with 13 points, 19 rebounds, two steals and three blocks.
"It feels good," Clarkson said. "We were screening and playing well and moving the ball like we're supposed to do. Defensively, we just did a great job keeping guys in front of us, and Rudy was a defensive presence. Everybody just pitched in, and it was a great team win."
Joe Ingles added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Bojan Bogdanović scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter in the victory.
Utah shot only 33.3 percent from the field in the first half before exploding for 65 points after halftime.
"We just tried to focus on the defensive end," Clarkson said. "We knew we were going to make shots in the second half. We just kept playing and getting stops, and we started getting stuff in transition. That made things easy for us."
The Jazz (21-12) have now won eight of their past nine games.
Former Jazzman Derrick Rose led the Pistons (12-22) with 20 points off the bench, while standout center Andre Drummond stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, five steals and three blocks—though he shot only 5-for-16 from the field and committed a game-high seven turnovers going up against Gobert.
Monday's Best, Part 1: Jordan Clarkson
Clarkson continued to provide a spark off the bench for the Jazz, scoring 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. The 27-year-old guard finished with a net rating of +11, and he's now averaging 16.0 points in three games with the Jazz.
Monday's Best, Part 2: This Dunk by Donovan Mitchell
Key Stretches
After scoring only 39 points in the first half, the Jazz opened the third quarter on a quick 16-2 run to take a 13-point lead. Mitchell scored six straight points—including a tough scooping layup—and then Royce O'Neale hit a three and Gobert slammed down a putback dunk to force a Detroit timeout. The break didn't help the Pistons, though, as Ingles hit nothing but net on a push shot and then a three from the wing to add to Utah's lead.
Detroit pulled back within seven in the fourth before the Jazz went on a quick 13-2 run. Clarkson and Tony Bradley each scored in the paint, and then Ingles blocked a shot, sprinted down the court with the ball and zipped a pass to Bogdanović for a three. After a Pistons timeout, Bogdanović scored again, Gobert put in a smooth hook shot, and Ingles coasted in for a transition layup to give Utah an 83-65 lead.
Significant Stats
+24
In a tale of two halves, the Jazz trailed by one at the break and then outscored the Pistons 65-41 in the final two quarters. Utah shot 59.1 percent from the field in the second half.
4
Utah held Detroit to only 38.0 percent shooting, including 4-for-14 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Pistons entered the night ranked No. 8 in the NBA with 12.5 threes per game (the Jazz, who shot 10-for-26 from deep, ranked No. 9 with 12.4 threes).
Notable
Mike Conley (hamstring) was out once again for the Jazz. The Pistons played without starters Blake Griffin (knee), Luke Kennard (knee) and Reggie Jackson (back). ... Utah scored 25 points off of Detroit's 17 turnovers. ... Rayjon Tucker made his NBA debut for the Jazz, checking into the game with the Jazz up by 21 points with just under three minutes remaining. Tucker missed a three and two free throws before grabbing a rebound and putting in a layup for his first NBA points.
Up Next
The Jazz will hit the road for a three-game road trip starting on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls. Tipoff is set for 6:00pm MT.
Utah's next home game is on Wednesday, January 8 at 7pm MT against the New York Knicks.
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