Mitchell sparks late run as Utah holds off Memphis in Game 3
Memphis gave Utah all it could handle, but the Grizzlies still came up short.
Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks sparked a Memphis rally to briefly take a fourth-quarter lead in Game 3, but the Jazz finished the game on a 14-2 run to come away with a 121-111 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night. The win gave top-seeded Utah a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
Morant and Brooks combined for 55 points, but Utah's versatility proved too much in the end.
Let's take a look at how the Jazz pulled out the victory.
Key performer: Donovan Mitchell
The Jazz clearly missed their star in Game 1 of the series, a 112-109 defeat. Mitchell returned to action and scored 25 points to lead Utah to a Game 2 victory, and he was even better in Game 3.
Mitchell did struggle a bit through the first portion of the game, as he made just two of his 10 3-point attempts and often ceded to his teammates. But when Utah needed its star to perform, Mitchell stepped up.
Mitchell scored 20 points in the second half and ended up leading all scorers with 29. But as you'll see in a moment, it wasn't so much about how many points he scored, but when he scored them.
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Turning point: Mitchell sparks Utah's late 12-0 run
With less than five minutes to play, Grizzlies star Morant slithered into the paint and hit a floater to give Memphis a 109-107 lead. The Memphis crowd loved it and it felt like it might be the point where everything flowed the Grizzlies' way.
But in fact, the opposite happened. What had become a frantic, back-and-forth affair quickly morphed into a Utah runaway, and Mitchell was the biggest reason why.
The two-time All-Star took the game over at that point. His drive to the basket for a three-point play but Utah back on top 110-109. Then he hit a 3-pointer, and he would soon make four consecutive free throws. In all, Mitchell scored 10 points of a 12-0 Utah run, turning a two-point deficit into a 10-point advantage with just 1:34 to play. The game was effectively over.
Wild card: Utah's versatility
The dilemma when trying to stop the Jazz is that it's impossible to focus on one or two players, you have to worry about almost everyone. That's how they built the NBA's best record during the regular season.
Saturday's contest was a perfect example. Ten Jazz players took the floor in the game, with Miye Oni – who played just long enough to commit a foul early in the fourth quarter – being the only one not to score at least one point.
While Mitchell led the way with his 29-point performance, six Utah players scored in double-figures, including Mike Conley with 27, and 15 each from Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert and Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson.
Even fourth-year journeyman Royce O'Neale, who has averaged 5.9 PPG for his career, got into the act, scoring all 12 of his points in the first half.
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Twitter's take:
Did you know?
Utah improved to 41-14 (.745) when Mitchell plays this season, compared to 13-7 (.650) when he doesn’t play. Utah improves to 5-1 against Memphis this season (3-0 in the regular season, 2-1 in the playoffs).
What's next:
The Jazz will try to put the Grizzlies in a 3-1 hole when they battle again in Memphis in Game 4 on Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT.
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