Gay gave Utah an immediate lift even while playing on a minutes restriction. He made back-to-back baskets to kickstart a 9-2 run that gave the Raptors a 23-17 lead in the first quarter. Toronto lost for the sixth time in seven games despite scoring 37 points off 24 Jazz turnovers.īirch gave Toronto an early spark, scoring all 14 of his points before halftime. scored a season-high 31 points for Toronto, and Fred VanVleet added 24. They also shot it pretty good from three - they’re a good shooting team and a really tough team to defend.” “They got a lot of buckets at the rim tonight,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. Utah shot 55% from the field and scored 48 points in the paint. Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 11 rebounds. He made shots, but that’s a byproduct of making the right play.”ĭonovan Mitchell also scored 20 points for Utah, and Royce O’Neale added a season-high 16. “Made the game easy because of the decisions that he made. “He played within himself,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Gay made good defensive plays and provided enough spacing and passing to help the offense operate at high efficiency. His offense wasn’t the only thing that lifted the Jazz to their second straight win. “You got to be a little different and I’m a little different. Gay embraced the challenge of coming back.
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Returning from a surgery that forced Gay to teach himself how to walk again for a second time in his NBA career would have been too daunting for most players in their mid-30s. He missed Utah’s first 14 games while recovering from offseason surgery on his right heel. Gay also had five rebounds while playing just 18 minutes. Gay hit five 3-pointers and scored 20 points in his season debut to help the Utah Jazz beat the Toronto Raptors 119-103 on Thursday night. SALT LAKE CITY - Rudy Gay showed he still knows how to make a major impact on a game even while playing limited minutes. "When I realized I couldn't bend down to get it, I probably shouldn't have done it," Gay said with a laugh.Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder calls a play during the first half of an NBA basketball game against Toronto Raptors, Thursday, Nov. So regardless of the opponent or the score, he wasn't about to let a loose ball go - even if he might regret it in the morning. Gay said that after a season filled with some lingering pain following offseason heel surgery, he felt he was back to a point where he could contribute and play in the way he has grown accustomed to over the course of his long NBA career. He came here because he wants to win and that's what he showed." "He's diving on the floor for loose balls it's good to see. To be a vet like that - we've discussed that he will be situational, those situations are there - for him to step in and be ready and play with the emotion and the energy," Snyder said.
He scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds, and had one memorable dive to the floor. On Tuesday, though, he played 13 minutes in Utah's win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and then played 26 minutes against the Thunder. Afterward, he refused a media request he knew the questions that were coming. On Monday, he participated in a spirited one-on-one session with Jared Butler, Eric Paschall, Hassan Whiteside, Nikeil Alexander-Walker and Zavier Sneed. To his credit, Gay kept his mentor role up at practice. I am just here to help where I can I'll do whatever I can to be a part of things and compete. "He told me what he felt like at that point," Gay said of the conversation. For a player that came to Utah with hopes of being a key contributor to a championship contender, that wasn't the greatest news. Juancho Hernangomez had played himself into the rotation, which meant Gay wouldn't always play. In a meeting with Jazz coach Quin Snyder, he was told he would be used on a situational basis. Last week, Gay was dealt another blow in an already difficult season. But for Gay, the game was far from a formality it provided a chance to find his rhythm again, and, maybe most importantly, to play. The Jazz beat the Thunder 137-101 in a game Oklahoma City wanted to lose, and Utah played enough of their guys to get a win.
I'll let you guys know how I am feeling tomorrow." I immediately thought to myself, 'What the hell are you doing?' as soon as I lunged out. It's been a while since I've been able to get a rhythm and actually feel like part of the game.
"It's been a while since I've been in the game. "At that point, I didn't care what the score was," Gay said of the play. In the fourth quarter of a game where the Jazz held a 29-point lead, Gay dove to the floor after a loose ball.
SALT LAKE CITY - Rudy Gay was already flying to the ground when the thought, "What are you doing?" entered his mind.