Rudy Gobert gets ejected in his comeback game as Jazz dismantle Rockets / News - Basketnews.com

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Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 22 and Rudy Gobert played well after a nine-game absence as the Utah Jazz (36-31) pummeled the Houston Rockets (15-41) 135-101 (36-24, 42-29, 22-25, 35-23) Monday night in Salt Lake City.

Player of the Game EFF 31 Donovan Mitchell Points 30 Accuracy 9-15 Rebounds 6 Assists 7

Not quite a month after losing to the Rockets on the same court, the Jazz squeezed the suspense out of this matchup early thanks to hot shooting and the Gobert-led defense.

Utah took its first double-digit lead less than four minutes in and went up by as many as 31 points late in the first half en route to its sixth straight win.

The Jazz cruised to a 78-53 halftime lead, outscoring the Rockets by 23 points with Gobert on the floor. The All-Star center finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and a blocked shot in his first game since Jan. 23 at Golden State.

Gobert played 22 minutes before his night ended when he was ejected midway through the fourth quarter after getting two technicals.

Kenyon Martin Jr. scored 16 points, while Eric Gordon, who had missed three games with a left heel injury, and Jae'Sean Tate each added 14. The Rockets lost their fifth straight game ninth in their last 10.

Seven Jazz players hit double figures, including Jordan Clarkson with 16. Hassan Whiteside scored 11 points with 14 rebounds and three blocks.

Gobert opened the game with a dunk after being sidelined for three weeks with a left calf strain. He closed a game-opening 9-1 run with another dunk, off an alley-oop pass from Mike Conley.

After Houston trimmed the gap to six points toward the end of the first quarter, the Jazz went on a 21-4 run, including 16 straight points to lead 47-24with 10:21 left in the second quarter.

Gordon snapped the Rockets' four-minute scoreless streak with a 3-pointer, but they trailed by 20 points. The Jazz snagged their biggest lead of the opening half when Bogdanovic scored on a layup with 1:30 remaining for a 76-45 edge.

Mitchell, who also finished with seven assists and six rebounds, scored 15 by halftime for Utah, as did Bogdanovic. The Jazz had 20 of its 34 assists in the opening half.

Jazz: Donovan Mitchell 30 (4/6 2PT, 5/9 3PT, 7/8 FT, 6 REB, 7 AST), Bojan Bogdanovic 22 (4/7 2PT, 4/7 3PT, 5 REB), Jordan Clarkson 16 (3/5 3PT), Rudy Gobert 14 (7/8 2PT, 7 REB), Eric Paschall 12 (2/3 3PT), Hassan Whiteside 11 (5/9 2PT, 14 REB, 3 BLK), Udoka Azubuike 10 (4/4 2PT).

Rockets: Kenyon Martin 16 (4/6 2PT, 2/3 3PT), Jae'Sean Tate 14 (6/9 2PT), Eric Gordon 14 (3/6 3PT), Jalen Green 13 (3/6 3PT), Christian Wood 12 (2/4 3PT, 9 REB, 4 AST).

Full game highlights:

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