Gobert hit two free throws with 6.9 seconds left and Jazz beat 106–104 Pelicans

Rudy Gobert is the primary factor why the team survived 106–104 against the New Orlean Pelicans last night. He sank two free throws with 6.9 seconds left to seal the victory in the first game of the NBA’s restart on Thursday night.

Brandon Ingram, who had a good performance with 23 points, eight rebounds, shooting 7/20 from the field and 2/8 from the perimeter, attempted a late 3-pointer but the ball rimmed out.

“He’s made a ton of big shots for us this year, but the bottom line is I don’t think it should have come down to that,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “We let a golden opportunity slip away.”

Zion Williamson scored 13 points in limited playing time (15 minutes) something that potentially cost them because they could utilize him down the stretch and considering his strength and versatility, they could have run more efficient plays.

“Of course we wish we could have played him down the stretch, but he’d used the minutes that was given to us, so that’s the way it is,” Gentry said. “We weren’t going to stick him back out there.”

Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points for Utah and helped lead a second-half comeback, while Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley each added 20 points.

“When Jordan has space on the floor to work, he’s really difficult to guard,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “That’s what you saw in the second half.”

JJ Redick scored 21, including a clutch 3 to tie it at 102, had four rebounds and three assists, while Jrue Holiday added 20 points (9/18 FG, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) for New Orleans.

Watch: Brandon Ingram Postgame Interview | Jazz vs Pelicans | July 30, 2020

Rudy Gobert on the return of the league:

Rudy Gobert had spoken to reporter Chris Haynes before the game regarding the restart of the season. Here what he said: ‘’I want to make sure the focus is on what we talked about earlier.’’ He texted reporter Chris Haynes and said: ‘’It’s a blessing to be back doing what we love with everything that is going on. The more important [thing] is to use our platforms to make this world a better place, this is really what matters. Now we need to keep educating ourselves as young men and try to use our power both financially socially and have even a greater impact together, especially on the younger generations.’’ Gobert was under the spotlight after he displayed what I would call remiss demeanor with what he did with the microphones and how he downgraded the existence of the virus.

Quin Snyder on the relationship between Mitchell and Gobert:

Journalists talked to coach Quin Snyder about the relationship between Gobert and Donovan Mitchell and asked him about the current status of it. After the waves of anger mitigated between those two, because as we all know, Mitchell tested positive to the virus too and he blamed Gobert for his immature actions and felt like his life was put in danger — but now we are past this stage of the relationship: ‘’Look, it’s a challenging situation,’’ Snyder said. ‘’The whole team had to process it and everybody was away from one another during quarantine’’ and as time went on, he and the team realized that this experience was so insignificant comparing it to what was happening to the big picture in the world — and since then there has been some peace between Gobert and Mitchell and understanding regarding what took place.

Quin Snyder on both teams kneeling before the game:

Before the game, both teams kneeled down during the anthem and later on, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was asked about it, here is what he said: ‘’Well, what is going on in our country right now, I think it’s critical that all of us, you know, in a unified way, turn attention to social justice and all the players, all the coaches are united in that fact and committed to doing what we are doing to bring change.’’

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