Rudy Gobert destroyed the Knicks with a career high and all the offensive rebounds

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has reached a new level of fame this season as a member of a no-doubt playoff team in line to hold home-court advantage in its first-round series. In most cases, Gobert gets attention for his defense, and rightfully so. He leads the NBA with 2.6 blocks per game, is the single most important member of a top-three defense, and generally strikes fear into the hearts of opposing scorers. Those contributions should land him on an All-NBA team this spring.

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Yet it sometimes goes unmentioned that Gobert has made great strides at the offensive end this season, averaging career bests in scoring (13.2 points per game), field-goal percentage (65.1 percent), and free-throw percentage (65.5 percent) heading into Wednesday night’s home game against the New York Knicks. After his performance in that contest, it’ll be much harder to ignore Gobert’s offense.

The Utah center did plenty on defense, too, blocking four shots and deterring many more. But his offensive performance was on another level. Gobert set a new career high in points with 35, a stunning total considering he’d only scored as many as 25 points (with a high of 27) twice before.

He also added 11 offensive rebounds (of 13 total), missed just one of his 14 field goal attempts, and shot a respectable 9-of-12 from the line in a truly dominant showing. Those points, rebounds, and blocks totals have only been matched by two players since 1983-84 — Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning.

The Knicks simply had no answer for Gobert in the Jazz’s 108-101 win. Utah trailed by three heading into the fourth quarter in what would certainly have qualified as a bad loss, particularly with the No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers lurking just a half-game behind them in the Western Conference standings at the start of the night. But Gobert scored eight points in the period (six off offensive boards) to help Utah put up 36 in the frame and outpace New York late.

It was a team effort, to be sure, but Gobert was the most physical force as the Jazz took control of the contest.

The win was a big one ahead of the Jazz’s next game, a Saturday tilt against the Clippers at Staples Center that could go a long way toward deciding which side will host four games in their near-certain first-round series. A Clippers win would give them a 3-1 season series win and a seeding tiebreaker, but the Jazz can force a move to the conference record tiebreaker they currently hold by a one-game margin. Home-court advantage could prove big for a young-ish Utah core that has not yet played in the postseason together.

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Regardless, the rise of Gobert should add intrigue to Utah’s return to the postseason. The 24-year-old is now one of the NBA’s best centers, and he has a chance to ascend to a new level of popularity next month.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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