Utah Jazz confidently defeated Denver Nuggets tonight, leveling the result in their series at 1-all. The finals result of this contest was 124-105 for the Jazzers, who were looking much better than a few days ago.
Once again, we saw Donovan Mitchell‘s clinic, with Utah’s guard tearing apart the Nuggets’ defense. The Spida dropped 30, had 8 assists, but with a superb shooting percentage – 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-7 from behind the arc.
Overall the whole Jazz team was good from the field, with 51.7% posted, 45-for-87. They would open the game shooting for three well, and that was what created them a lead in the first place.
In the late part of the first, the Jazz was up 27-20, but the Nuggets came back, managing to stick around until the finals moments of the second sequence. That was when they started pulling away, reaching a 61-48 edge before the pause.
Then came the third period in which Quin Snyder’s side completely outplayed Denver scoring 43 and allowing 29 points. Mitchell took over the wheel, blasting the rivals from all sorts of positions, especially from downtown. At the end of this part, Utah was up 104-77. They wouldn’t look back after that, but slowly and calmly lock the game, not spending too much of their energy or risking any injuries.
Jordan Clarkson was superb off the bench with 26 points, four boards, and four threes. He and Mitchell would complement one another pretty good, and once one slowed down, the other would increase the tempo.
Joe Ingles was 7-for-12 for 18 points and six assists, while Rudy Gobert added 19 and seven rebounds, shooting 7-for-10. Royce O’Neale had a versatile night, with 9 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and two blocks.
Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets, with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. In the moments when Utah made the gap, the Joker was left alone to confront them, without any help from his teammates. Porter Jr. also had 28 points, but most of them were when Utah made a significant difference. MPJ was 6-for-9 for three, 10-for-17 from the floor.
Jamal Muray scored 14 points.
Denver allowed 48 points in the paint, and scored just 28, which was the difference in the end.
There is no time to relax and rest as these two sides continue their battles on Thursday, at 6 pm ET.