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With a victory in hand and a week of vacation ahead, Rudy Gobert sat at his locker, patted his chest and announced his vacation plans with a smile.
"I'm going to swim," he said. "I need some sun."
The Jazz locker room cleared out quickly following Wednesday night's win over the Portland Trail Blazers, with players headed off to tropical destinations, home to be with family, or preparing for basketball's biggest party this weekend in New Orleans.
And even the busiest of Jazzmen were ready for the break.
"I've got 6-month old twins," forward Joe Ingles said. "My days are very limited to holding kids and feeding kids. It will be good to spend some time with them."
The Jazz have played 57 games to this point in the season, 35 of them victories. The grind is taxing. Gobert, for instance, has logged nearly 1,900 minutes of game time already and has covered some 131 miles — more than all but seven other players around the league-just running up and down the court, according to NBA.com.
The Jazz hope the break can help point guard George Hill's sore big toe mend and give shooting guard Rodney Hood enough time to get back on the court after missing seven straight games with a sprained ligament in his knee.
But that's not the only fatigue facing them.
"You get emotionally and mentally drained," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said, "the way you do physically."
And with 25 games left on their schedule, the Jazz are ready to unwind before beginning the most important stretch of the season.
"This break is going to be good for us to gear up, get some juice back," said forward Gordon Hayward, "and finish it out strong."
Hayward, of course, will be headlining a sizable Jazz contingent headed to New Orleans for the all-star weekend festivities.
Forward Trey Lyles and point guard Danté Exum will both play for the World Team in the league's Rising Stars game on Friday. Jazz and Salt Lake City Stars forward Joel Bolomboy will be joining them, after being tapped Thursday for roster spot in Saturday's D-League all-star game.
"It's an honor," said Exum, who played in the game as a rookie and had to watch last season as he rehabbed from an ACL injury. "Not being able to play last year and being able to come back from injury and be invited again, it's a huge honor."
Exum will stick around the Big Easy through the weekend to cheer on Hayward in Sunday's all-star game.
When they return, Hayward wants to see a rested and more consistent squad for the sprint to the playoffs.
"Playing the way we know how to play every night, not having lapses," he said when asked where his team most needs improvement. "… We've had flashes where we've played extremely well. We've had flashes where we don't play very well."
Snyder and his staff will get away, too, though it will be hard to disconnect entirely from basketball.
"We'll break down for a day or two what just happened when we have a little time," the coach said. "And then we'll gear up again."
It will be the Jazz's most important stretch run in years. Utah heads into the break in fifth place in the West, a half game back of the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
"We need the rest," Ingles said. "… Hopefully the kids will sleep a little bit."
Twitter: @aaronfalk —
All-Star weekend
At New Orleans
Friday's events
7 p.m. • Rising Stars Challenge (Utah's Dante Exum and Trey Lyles will participate)
Saturday's events
10:30 a.m. • NBA D-League All-Star Game (SLC Stars' Joel Bolomboy will participate)
6 p.m. • All-Star Saturday Night (Skills challenge with Gordon Hayward, 3-point contest, slam dunk contest)
Sunday's events
6 p.m. • All-Star Game