| Advertisement |
SALT LAKE CITY - Anthony Davis had another huge outing for the New Orleans Pelicans, but it wasn't enough to overcome a team effort by the Utah Jazz. The Jazz used a balanced effort on Saturday night to neutralize a big game by Davis and post a 101-87 victory over the Pelicans.
Advertisement
Reserve guard Alec Burks scored 21 points to lead the Jazz to just their third home win in five tries. Burks, who also had five rebounds and four assists, scored nine points in the decisive fourth quarter for Utah (8-7).
"He's a great player," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of Davis, "but we did a good job on the whole as a group."
Small forward Gordon Hayward scored 17 points, shooting guard Rodney Hood added 16 points and power forward Trevor Booker contributed 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in a starting role.
Rudy Gobert capped the victory with a late alley-oop dunk. The 7-foot-1 center had nine points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.
"It's hard to guard when you're getting that many contributions from everybody," Hayward said. "You can't focus in on one or two guys. I thought we played well as a team overall."
There was some question as to whether Davis would play after he suffered a right knee contusion during the Pelicans' 111-90 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles the previous night.
But Davis showed no signs of being hampered by an injury, scoring 14 of his team's 16 points in the first quarter. He finished with a game-high 36 points and 11 rebounds.
Davis has a history of playing well against the Jazz. He established a career scoring high in a 106-94 win at Utah last year, finishing with 43 points and 14 rebounds.
"I thought he (Davis) did a great job," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. "He played really well. He shot the ball well. I thought he did all he could to try to help us win."
It just wasn't enough on this night.
Guard Ish Smith scored 13 points and was the only other New Orleans player in double figures.
"We just have to play together. Play harder. Play tougher," Davis said. "We are just trying to find a way to win. Whatever we have to do to win, we need to become closer as a team and believe in each other. We need to stop playing selfish basketball."
The game kicked off the longest homestand of the season for the Jazz, who are one of only five teams in the NBA to have played on the road at least 10 times.
New Orleans' Toney Douglas and Alexis Ajinca and Jazz small forward Joe Ingles each received technical fouls for their parts in a confrontation in the first half.
The Jazz threatened to salt the game away on multiple occasions, going up by as many as 21 points in the first half and taking a 76-60 lead into the fourth quarter.
Utah, which won the rebounding battle 49-35, couldn't put New Orleans away, though. The Pelicans managed to pull within single digits several times, including 90-84 after a Smith layup and two Davis free throws.
Hayward hit an off-balance shot and Hood added two free throws to put a stop to the Pelicans' final surge, helping Utah re-establish a double-digit lead at 94-84.
New Orleans (4-13) ended its three-game Western road trip with back-to-back losses after a promising start - a 120-114 win in Phoenix.
NOTES: Jazz PF Derrick Favors was not with the team Saturday because of personal reasons. Trevor Booker started in his place. ... Jazz coach Quin Snyder developed a tight relationship with Pelicans G Jrue Holiday when the two were together in Philadelphia in the 2010-11 season. "I'm really happy for him," said Snyder, who was a Sixers assistant at the time. "He has continued to improve as a player and I'm looking forward to seeing him healthy." ... Jazz Gs Rodney Hood and Trey Burke played after dealing with back spasms for a couple days. ... In one of the more interesting door giveaways, the Jazz gave fans attending Saturday's game a bamboo pot, seeds and peat pellets as part of the organization's "Green Team" festivities.
