Rudy Gobert made the Phoenix Suns formulate a game plan around his talents, Thursday night.

With Tyson Chandler a healthy scratch, the Suns attempted to attack Gobert with a shortage of available bigs, which had an affect on what Phoenix did on both ends of the floor.

To their credit, the Suns didn’t roll over against the Jazz, especially in Thursday night’s matchup, and especially when they had every incentive to lose. Phoenix fought in the first half. The Suns were physical with Gobert on one end, and tried to be tactical on the other.

How did it all work for the Suns?

“A lot of defending Gobert is dependent on your roster and what’s available,” Phoenix interim head coach Jay Triano said. “I think you try and weigh, can we drag him away from the basket on one end of the floor? And how much does it hurt us on the glass on the other end?”

In a game where Phoenix’s perimeter players showed well in the first half, the Suns had no answer for Gobert. Triano started Alex Len on Gobert, but Len wasn’t able to score against him. He played Dragan Bender at center because he’s a shooter, in an effort to draw him away from the basket defensively.

Nothing worked.

Gobert, as has been the case for more than a month, dominated Thursday night’s first half, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Through an opponent’s eyes, playing against the Frenchman isn’t easy.

Without Chandler, that task became more difficult for Phoenix.