NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Utah Jazz handed the New Orleans Pelicans their first loss of the season with a 132-111 victory at Smoothie King Arena.

New Orleans star Anthony Davis was ruled out just before game time with a sprained elbow. Rudy Gobert took advantage of the superstar’s absence with a huge night, scoring 25 points with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Point guard Ricky Rubio, who assisted on several of the big man’s baskets with big alley oops, conceded that it was a little easier without Davis on the floor when he spoke to sideline reporter Kristen Kenney postgame.

Someone check the record for most dunks in a game!! pic.twitter.com/eNzsKvkvtA

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2018

Strong Game By Rubio

Rubio turned in his best game yet of the young season. The Spanish native finished with 28points and 12 assists. He shot 8-of-14 from the field, including three 3-pointers made. He also had a perfect night at the free throw line, going a flawless 9-for-9.

“I wasn’ t finding my rhythm in the first games, but the team got confident with me, my teammates got confident with me, same with the coach, he got confident in me and I kept shooting,” said Rubio.

Donovan Mitchell also had a highly efficient game with 22 points. He shot 7-of-10 from the floor including three 3-pointers made.

#9 tonight 😍 pic.twitter.com/RpkQoXe2rO

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2018

Utah Holds On To Win

The Jazz started the game a bit shaky, allowing the shorthanded Pelicans to take a 31-28 lead at the end of the first quarter. They then out-scored New Orleans 36-18 in the second quarter to take a 64-49 lead at the halftime break.

It looked like they were on track to coast to an easy win until the Pelicans’ second unit came on strong in the fourth, forcing head coach Quin Snyder to put the starters back in to close out the game.

The @utahjazz scored a season-high 132 points en route to their 14th 20-point win since the start of last season. That’s tied with the Warriors and Rockets for most 20-point wins in that span. pic.twitter.com/hSoxoYQlXF

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 28, 2018

Up Next

The Jazz will next take on the Dallas Mavericks on the road Sunday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.