The game was tied at 96 all with under 2 minutes left. Then, Rudy Gobert took over.
It is unusual for a center to do that. Even when a center is a team’s best player, it’s difficult to get them the ball down low reliably. It’s difficult to ensure that they can have a defensive impact, and it’s difficult to rebound because teams crash the boards more late. The famous game-winning plays in NBA history are typically from guards or forwards, not big men.
And in general, you might reasonably argue that some of the Jazz’s clutch problems in seasons past are because of this: the Jazz are less able to shift burdens onto their best players late because one of their best players is most effective when he has the ball in his hands for less than two seconds.