Rudy Gobert Outduels D'Angelo Russell as Jazz Cruise Past Slumping Warriors

Quietly one of the most dominant teams in basketball, the Utah Jazz kept on winning Wednesday night, pulling off a 129-96 victory for a season sweep of the Golden State Warriors.

After starting the season 12-10, the Jazz (31-13) have now lost just twice since December 9—an 18-2 stretch—catapulting them into the top five of a Western Conference increasingly aware of their presence. Entering Wednesday, no NBA team was shooting better from the floor than Utah over the last 15 games (50.3 percent), and only the Dallas Mavericks (15.1) are averaging more threes made per 100 possessions than the Jazz's 14.5. It's no surprise that Utah leads the league in offensive rating (120.5) over that stretch as well, per NBA.com.

What makes this stretch of play by the Jazz even more impressive is that they've achieved this success with just two players ranking in the top 30 scorers in the league. Donovan Mitchell's 24.7 points per game is just the 14th-best in the NBA; Bojan Bogdanovic (21.1 points per game) is eight spots behind him.

The Jazz were four games behind the Lakers for first place in the West before defeating Golden State. That number is dwindling by the day.

Notable Performers

• Rudy Gobert, C, Jazz: 22 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks
• Donovan Mitchell, SG, Jazz: 23 points, four rebounds, three assists
• D'Angelo Russell, SG, Warriors: 26 points, three rebounds, three assists
• Marquese Chriss, PF, Warriors: 11 points, eight rebounds

Rudy Gobert Goes Off

Way back in November, before it became clear just how much trouble the Golden State Warriors would face this season, Utah center Rudy Gobert put on one of the most efficient performances of his career at the newly opened Chase Center, shooting 11-of-12 from the field to finish with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

On Wednesday, he returned to Chase Center ready to top it. After a first half where the big man caught fire, that felt more than possible.

Gobert shot 7-of-8 from the field for 15 points and 11 rebounds at the break to finish 10-of-13 for 22 points and 15 boards. Had this been a competitive game, perhaps Gobert plays more than 30 minutes and keeps pushing himself. As it stood, the Jazz stretched their lead too far to justify leaving in their starting center.

Even still, Gobert forced himself to try every trick he has available:

The Warriors simply didn't have the type of bodies needed to slow him down. Center Willie Cauley-Stein was minus-13 on the night. Glenn Robinson III was minus-24 and Draymond Green was minus-19. It didn't matter who was trying to guard Gobert. He ate them all up.

This has been a full team effort for Utah since early December, and there aren't many signs of it slowing down. Except on Wednesday, when it was time to clear out and let Gobert run the show.

Warriors' Trade Bait Falls Flat

There's no question the Warriors want to be active when the February 6 trade deadline rolls around. Unlike most teams looking to sell off parts this time of year, Golden State just needs to fill in pieces around the edges to support Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson when they're healthy next season. That makes it unlikely for any marquee players to move on from the Bay Area this year, meaning the players who are on the trade block need to show out now if they want to join a contender down the stretch.

Against one of the Western Conference's top teams, it didn't seem like anyone was worth buying on Golden State.

Burks and Robinson—the two players most talked about in Warriors trade rumors—were duds Wednesday.

Granted, no one looked all that great for Golden State, but those are two of the players the Warriors need to be able to profit off at the deadline. Instead, they combined for 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field with a total of nine rebounds and two assists while each playing at least 24 minutes.

Instead of showing they could hang with the league's best, they were a minus-37 on a night their team lost by 33.

The Warriors aren't expected to win a lot of games for the rest of this season. That's how it goes in today's NBA some years. Having two key trade pieces flop when they're given every chance to succeed is a different level of frustration.

What's Next?

Utah returns home for a two-game stretch against the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks beginning on Saturday. Each team presents a unique challenge for the Jazz as they'll have to find a way to shut down superstar Luka Doncic before regrouping to face the three-headed monster of James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela.

The Warriors' two-game homestand comes to a close Friday against the Indiana Pacers. That sets up a nine-day, five-game East Coast road trip. With Golden State on the road for the trade deadline, fans might be getting their last glimpse at the likes of Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks in Warriors jerseys this weekend.