CHICAGO (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Rudy Gobert added 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high nine blocks, and the Utah Jazz pounded the Chicago Bulls 120-95 on Monday night.
The Western Conference leaders took control in the first half and rolled to their second straight win after losing five of eight.
Mitchell made five 3-pointers, one shy of his season high. The two-time All-Star also had six rebounds and six assists.
Gobert just missed the first triple-double by a Jazz player since Feb. 13, 2008, when Carlos Boozer had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists at Seattle. He also surpassed his previous high of eight blocks.
“He’s playing the right way,” coach Quin Snyder said. “When he does the things that, really, only he can do as far as running and being willing to come over and get off his man’s body and contest shots, he’s gonna block shots.”
Gobert picked up his ninth block with 8:18 remaining in the game when he rejected a driving Coby White. He got subbed out about a minute later. Gobert checked back in with 5:37 left and exited for good with 1:38 remaining.
“When I subbed out with about seven minutes left, Derrick (Favors) was coming in and told me that I had nine blocks,” Gobert said. “He was very happy to tell me that. That’s just the way we are as a team. Everyone is happy for one another. Everyone is lifting each other up. It’s just fun to be part of a group that cares for one another.”
Joe Ingles made 5 of 6 3s and finished with 17 points. Jordan Clarkson scored 16, and Mike Conley added 15 points.
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 27 points, though he made just 10 of 25 shots. Thaddeus Young added 14 points and nine rebounds.
But Lauri Markkanen scored just eight points in 19 minutes as the Bulls lost for the third time in four games. The 7-footer sat for about a 13-minute stretch between the third and fourth quarters but insisted he doesn’t need an explanation from coach Billy Donovan.
“I trust Billy 100 percent,” Markkanen said. “He doesn’t need to explain anything to me. If it comes up, obviously, we can talk about it. He was trying to find a new lineup that would work. I’m not questioning him at all.”
TIP-INS
Jazz: Gobert was questionable because of a bruised left hip. … Ingles is 105 for 210 on 3-pointers this season. … Snyder praised assistant Alex Jensen, saying “he will be successful as a head coach sometime here in the future.” Jensen is in his eighth season with the Jazz. He starred from 1994 to 2000 at Utah, which is looking for a coach after firing Larry Krystkowiak last week.
Bulls: Former Bulls C Joakim Noah was on hand, and the Bulls honored him with a video tribute between the first and second quarters. … Coach Billy Donovan said F Garrett Temple (sprained left ankle) “continues to make really, really good progress” from a sprained left ankle that kept him out of his sixth consecutive game. He said Temple responded “really well” to straight-ahead running on Monday and the next step will be testing his lateral movement. … F Patrick Williams was listed on the injury report with a sprained left shoulder that Donovan thought was minor.
BIG RUN
Mitchell scored 21 in the first half and was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers as the Jazz grabbed a 56-42 lead.
Ingles, the franchise’s career leader in made 3s, also hit four. He buried three in a 19-0 run as Utah turned a three-point deficit late in the opening quarter into a 39-23 advantage early in the second.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Bulls: Host Cleveland on Wednesday.
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