One hundred and forty-one nights after his positive test for coronavirus triggered the suspension of the NBA season, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert scored the first points of the league restart, turning a drop move on the former teammate. Team Derrick Favors in Thursday night’s opening game possession against the New Orleans Pelicans in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
More importantly, Gobert also scored the game’s final points, hitting a couple of free throws ahead with 6.9 seconds remaining.
“I am grateful,” Gobert told ESPN in a phone interview after the Jazz’s 106-104 victory at HP Field House in Walt Disney World. “I am just grateful to be able to do what I love to do. After all I personally and everything the world is going through right now, being able to continue to inspire millions of children around the world and continue to spread positivity is just a blessing. .
“And it’s great to start with a victory, of course.”
It was also a proper way to end the victory, as shooting guard Donovan Mitchell shot down the defense with dribble penetration and fed Gobert to lead the free throws. A lack of Favors prevented Gobert from ending with a dunk worth noting, but the play still held as evidence that the Jazz co-stars, whose rift dominated the franchise’s news coverage for months, could continue to have a working partnership. productive.
“Donovan was trying to make the right play and he did it,” said Gobert, who had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks in the victory, which was sealed when Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram missed a triple on the buzzer. . “A lot of people probably won’t be able to say what they mean to try to break up our team. As I said, life works in mysterious ways.”
The pair of Jazz All-Stars did not speak during the first month of the break because Mitchell, who tested positive for COVID-19 hours after Gobert, was upset by the arrogant 7-foot attitude on the coronavirus pandemic before Gobert realized he was infected
However, both have acknowledged that there was friction between them prior to the pandemic, primarily with respect to the frequency with which Mitchell switched to Gobert and the big man’s tendency to complain about it.
“We have moved forward and talked about using all of this experience to improve, and I think those two guys have done it,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder.
After several productive private conversations, each of which took responsibility, Gobert and Mitchell publicly expressed their confidence in the past few weeks that they could continue to win together and have a desire to refocus on the team as a whole. They reiterated that stance after working together on the critical play in Thursday’s victory.
“That also prevents them from talking about it, to be honest,” said Mitchell, who had two of his five balloon assists to Gobert in the third quarter, when the Jazz were climbing from a 16-point point. deficit. “In the end, we’re basketball players. We went out there and made the right play. He did a great job. I try to find my way and find guys who open up. For me, at the end of the game, it’s about doing the right reading. I’ve Said a thousand times that I’m trying to be a better passer, a better game maker as a whole. To be able to do that in those situations only the steps are shown “I’ve done.
“I’m just trusting him and him trusting me. That’s really what it is … He had the first two points, and that’s why [play] in closing, I should seal everything in terms of talking about all those extra things. “
Mitchell scored eight of his 20 points in the last five minutes, beating the Pelicans on their own during the crisis time as the Jazz put the finishing touches on their return. It coincided with the season’s biggest comeback in Utah as it also topped the Portland Trail Blazers by 16 in a Feb. 7 win, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Mitchell had the Jazz’s previous eight points when, with the score tied, he drove down the middle of the lane after beating New Orleans guard Jrue Holiday with a dribble behind his back, forcing Favors to help and made a nice one. for Gobert.
“Making the play that was late and dropping the ball to Rudy and then having Rudy make the two free throws, that shows a lot of confidence in his teammate,” Snyder said. “Maybe he’ll change his mind and say he’s poetic, but I don’t want to overdo it. Those two guys have done it hundreds and hundreds of times in the last [three] years, the time they have been playing together. It’s great to see them connect on the court. “
Gobert still had to sink the pressure-filled free throws, which had been a problem for him. He entered the game 1-of-8 on free throws in the last 10 seconds of the last quarter or overtime this season, according to ESPN Stats & Info research, the worst clip (12.5%) of any player with at least five such attempts situations
But Gobert made both free throws with the game on the line, saying he simply focused on how he was holding the ball and keeping track of it, not the magnitude of the moment.
After the game ended, the final interaction between the players on the floor was Mitchell walking to exchange a collides those five with Gobert before the TNT center interview.
“Each team has ups and downs,” said Gobert. “The most important thing is how you respond. It takes a bigger man to take the path of life. We are both doing it right now. We will both keep trying to improve each other. That is what our team needs and our community needs. “
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