Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell knew he was exploited by rookie Tyler Herro down the stretch and owned up to it following a 107-104 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday.
Mitchell used some colorful language to describe what happened:
“He kicked my ass,” said Mitchell, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “He capitalized on my poor defense. I take credit for that. I'll take the blame for that. It's on me. He kicked my ass on three straight possessions. We'll see him again.”
Herro made plenty of rookie mistakes late in the game, including giving up a clutch steal to Mitchell with 14.2 seconds left, but the youngster torched the Jazz star on numerous occasions, blazing past him for three straight drives to the basket that resulted in six quick points that gave the Heat some breathing room.
The rookie out of Kentucky had nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, taking on the challenge of going against Mitchell, who was struggling to shoot the ball with a 5-of-18 night from the floor.
Surprisingly enough, Mitchell was a team-high plus-13 during his 39 minutes on the floor, but that couldn't help the Jazz close the gap as Miami quickly took over in the fourth quarter.
These teams will meet again on Feb. 12, at which point Mitchell and company can avenge having their season-high five-game win streak snapped on Monday.
Herro is quickly gaining traction as one of the best rookies in his class, much like Mitchell did in 2017. Both were drafted with the 13th overall pick in the draft, just like another come-out-of-nowhere talent in Devin Booker in 2015.
There is something in the water with the 13th pick in odd years, and it won't be long before Mitchell and Herro duke it out again for bragging rights next year.
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