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The number wasn't one Rudy Gobert had in his head.

Scoring 35 points in a game?

Few could have imagined it even a year ago, let alone when the 7-foot-2 center first came to Utah from France.

"I didn't think I was going to score 35," Gobert said Wednesday night, after doing just that, setting a career-high in a 108-101 win over the New York Knicks. "I think I'm going to score more than 35 in my career."

Gobert may be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, but it was his offense that saved a Jazz team looking to end a three-game losing skid.

"If he doesn't play like that, we don't win," coach Quin Snyder said.

Gobert missed his first shot of the night, a tip-in, before making his next 13 to finish out the game, rolling to the rim for dunks and cleaning up his teammates' misses off the glass. He also went 9 for 12 from the free-throw line. Gobert is just the fourth player this season, along with Kevin Durant, James Harden and George Hill, to score 33-plus points on 14 or fewer field-goal attempts.

"He was big time," forward Gordon Hayward said. "He's gotten so much better offensively this year."

Gobert's offensive game has improved dramatically since he first entered the league, and the Jazz believe he has made steady gains over the course of this season, too.

"I've been working," Gobert said. "Just working every day.

But the box score isn't always what matters most for the Jazz's $100-million man.

Asked if he thought Wednesday was his best game in the NBA, Gobert said, "Numbers-wise, yes. But like I said, there are some games when you're not going to score as much and you're going to be better."

Hot and cold

A hot hand doesn't always carry over.

One game after scoring a career-high 38 points in Indiana, Hayward went cold back in Salt Lake City, missing eight of his first 10 shots Wednesday, including all six of his attempts from beyond the arc.

"I had some really good looks, some wide open ones, to be honest," Hayward said. "It's funny how the game works sometimes. Have a career-high the game before, can't miss. Start tonight off, can't throw it in the ocean."

Time change

ESPN has dropped the Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers from its April 4 calendar. As a result, the game at Vivint Smart Home Arena will be moved from 8:30 p.m. to the more regular 7 p.m. Root Sports will televise the game.

Twitter: @aaronfalk