NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Derrick Favors scored 25 points, Rudy Gobert added 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 114-104 on Wednesday night.
Donovan Mitchell had 22 points, and Joe Ingles had 10 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, who won for the second time in New Orleans this season and exacted a measure of revenge for the Pelicans’ surprising comeback victory in Utah on Monday night.
Julius Randle scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who had won their previous three games — all on the road — before seeing their streak end in their return home. Anthony Davis scored 16 points and blocked two shots in 21 minutes, his usual workload in the wake of his late-January trade request. Jrue Holiday also scored 16 for New Orleans, which enjoyed only a few slim leads in the first half before trailing most of the game.
In their meeting two nights earlier in Utah, the Jazz led by as many as 17, but lost that lead in the second half in a 115-112 Pelicans win.
This time, Utah built an 18-point lead in the third quarter when Gobert’s layup and Mitchell’s 3 capped an 11-4 start to the second half, putting the Jazz up 69-51.
The Jazz still led by 16 when Davis checked out for good in the middle of the period, and that’s when the Pelicans briefly seized momentum. Holiday set up Kenrich Williams’ cutting layup, igniting a 16-4 run that pulled the Pelicans to 80-76 on Randle’s free throws.
Utah responded with the next nine points, with Favors scoring six on a layup, free throws and a putback dunk, and the Jazz appeared firmly in control when Jae Crowder’s dunk made it 102-85 with 8:08 left.
New Orleans rallied once more, closing to 104-98 on Williams’ corner 3 with 4:20 left. But a few possessions later, Ingles fed Gobert for a cutting windmill dunk that pushed Utah’s lead back to nine, and the Pelicans did not threaten again.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Ricky Rubio assisted on 10 baskets, reaching double figures in that category for the first time in 10 games. … After committing six turnovers in Utah’s loss to New Orleans on Monday, Mitchell had eight turnovers and just one assist in the rematch, but also made 10 of 18 field goals, including a pair of 3s. … Favors surpassed 20 points for the second time in three games. … Gobert posted his second straight points-rebounds double-double and fourth in six games. … Kyle Korver had 12 points and Crowder finished with 11. … Shot 52.3 percent (46 of 88), with 70 points in the paint, compensating for 8-of-30 shooting from 3-point range and 14 of 22 free throw shooting.
Pelicans: Frank Jackson scored 13 points, hitting three of four 3-point attempts, in 28 minutes off the bench. … Williams scored 12 in a starting role. … New Orleans missed 15 of 24 3-point attempts and missed seven of 20 free throws as a team.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Memphis on Friday night.
Pelicans: Host Toronto on Friday night.
