National Basketball Association

Johnson scores 27, Jazz pound Pelicans 127-94 (Feb 08, 2017)

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:06 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Joe Johnson is getting into the flow of Utah's offense, making an already formidable and balanced Jazz squad even tougher to handle.

Johnson highlighted a 27-point performance with six 3-pointers on eight attempts, and Utah extended its winning streak to four games with a dominant 127-94 triumph over the struggling New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

''We're just moving the basketball and putting up points, so we've just got to continue it, keep trusting one another,'' said Johnson, who was 10-of-14 shooting overall.

If the Pelicans were more preoccupied with Jazz All-Star forward Gordon Hayward or guard George Hill, Johnson would not have blamed them. Johnson himself didn't feel sharp during warmups, but was pleased by how easily he was able to find his rhythm in an offense that has produced 120 or more points in two straight games.

''I've had nights where you come in and before the game you feel good and you feel like it's going to be a great night, but tonight wasn't one of those nights for me,'' Johnson said. ''For whatever reason, I just felt a little sluggish, but it worked out. ... We just moved the basketball and I was getting wide-open shots.''

Hill added 19 points and Hayward scored 17 in 26 minutes before getting the whole fourth quarter off.

''They just beat us in every phase of the game. Their execution was flawless,'' said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, whose team has lost five of six. ''They've got everything. They've got size, they've got depth, and they can shoot the ball.''

Utah, which shot nearly 55 percent (48 of 88) and had seven players score 10 or more points, led for all but the first three minutes and were up by as many as 21 in the third quarter and 39 in the final period. The Jazz scored 58 points in the paint and shot nearly 44 percent (14 of 32) from 3-point range.

''We have a lot of depth on this team, a lot of versatility. We can score in a lot of different ways,'' Hayward said. ''That's one of our strengths as a team is the ability to find different guys on different nights, so it makes it easier on everybody.''

Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Jrue Holiday 15 for New Orleans.

DEFENDING DAVIS

Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 16 rebounds for Utah, which outrebounded New Orleans 48-37. Gobert also was the primary defender on Anthony Davis, who scored 12 on 4-of-12 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.

''Just playing defense, you know, do what we do, stick to the game plan and for me individually try to make his life more difficult than usual,'' Gobert said. ''I like challenges.''

Nearly halfway through the third quarter, Davis had only four points on 2-of-6 shooting. He enjoyed a brief surge in the third quarter when he dunked twice over 7-foot-1 Gobert, but still finished well below his average of 27.9 points per game coming in.

''Most of my shots I was open. I just missed them,'' Davis said. ''You can't do anything about it, so I tried to do a lot defensively to still have my presence on the game.''

TIP-INS

Jazz: Alec Burks added 13 points and Dante Exum 11. ... With two blocks, Gobert has at least one in 22 straight games and now has 499 career blocked shots, passing Rich Kelley (498) for ninth on the franchise's all-time block list. ... Utah led 62-53 at halftime.

Pelicans: Hit three of their first five 3-point attempts before going 2-of-19 from deep the rest of the rest of the way. ... G Tyreke Evans, who re-aggravated a left ankle injury on Monday, did not play. ... E'Twaun Moore scored 13 points and Tim Frazier 11. ... The Pelicans play their next four straight on the road, where they are 6-18 this season.

UP NEXT

Jazz: Visit Dallas on Thursday night to close out a three-game road trip.

Pelicans: Visit Minnesota on Friday night.