Donovan Mitchell scored 45 points, his dorsal, and led the Utah Jazz victory over the Los Angeles Clippers 112-109 in the opening game of the Western Conference Semifinal series with an excellent second half in which he scored 32 points.
The resurgence of the Utah star in the second half allowed the locals to erase a 13-point deficit at half-time and place 1-0 in the tie across from LA, which was melted away by the impressive atmosphere at the Mormon pavilion in Salt Lake City.
Angelenos completed a bright coral first half, which allowed them to go quietly to rest with Luke kennard (11 of his 18 total points), as the main reference. They ended up, instead, blurred without the differential intervention of their stars, a Kawhi leonard (23 points) and a Paul george (20 points and 11 rebounds) who were overwhelmed in the fourth quarter by the rival defense.
Mitchell’s effort, who put the team behind his back, encouraged the intervention of Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic, which ended with 18 points each. Utah’s comeback it was forged in the third quarter (32-19), but it was confirmed in the last after a powerful partial 21-9 who posted a 103-93 five minutes from the conclusion.
Mitchell and Clarkson had 12 3-pointers between them, and Bogdanovic scored three in a row. to close the quarter that put the +10 favorable to Utah on the scoreboard.
Los Angeles came back despite everything and had the last possession to tie the game, but Rudy gobert (10) appeared then with a plug
about Marcus Morris one second from the conclusion that sealed the local triumph.
The start of the game Quin Snyder’s Men it was worrisome and managed to lower the volume to the bustling pavilion. After starting with a 10-2 partial, the Jazz stayed dry for 8 minutes in which they accumulated 20 consecutive failures in field goals.
The Utah freeze was taken advantage of by some Clippers who began by giving a collective recital at the home of the greatest example of choral basketball that are in the NBA today. Good fundamentals rescued the league-best Jazz in the second half.
Mitchell started furious and scored the first four baskets of the period, which ended with 16 points in 9 minutes of play. His energy infected his teammates, who took the lead again three minutes from the end (72-71) of the period with a basket of Royce O’Neale (8).
Despite the Clarkson’s bad shot numbers and
Joe Ingles (8), who finished 3-of-12 in shooting from the field, the Jazz capitalized on the favorable tide and atmosphere to give the first lunge to a Clippers that last night they missed, once again, to Serge Ibaka.
The Hispanic-Congolese, with spasms in her bruised back, again accumulated another loss with the Angelenos, who are in need of size in the paint in the tie. Ivica zubac, with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, he fulfilled to some extent the role that Ibaka would probably occupy by now.
DeMarcus Cousins, with 6 points and 3 rebounds in 4 minutes of play, he made his debut for LA in the postseason. Tyron Lue’s team, capable of the best and the worst in just 48 minutes, missed a greater contribution from George, who was 4 of 17 in shots from the field.