Thursday's matchup between the Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets had the feel of must-watch game to many NBA fans … until Nets stars Kevin Durant Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Blake Griffin were all ruled out. The league-best Jazz did not hold back and decided the game by the end of the first quarter, going up by 21 points and never getting threatened the rest of the way in a 118-88 demolition.
Jazz All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell made sure his team had the mindset to remain focus and locked in despite the key Nets absences:
“We’re not going to change how we play or our mindset because guys aren’t in the game. That’s what we showed tonight,” said Donovan Mitchell, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.
“We’ve had instances in my time here where we’ve played differently because guys have been out; tonight really showed the mental fortitude we had throughout the entire game to continue to to keep our foot on the pedal.”
Mitchell was the player of the game for the Jazz, concluding the matchup with 27 points, six rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from the 3-point line.
Jazz veteran small forward Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points to help break out of a slump that had been hindering him. Bogdanovic certainly found his touch again from beyond the arc, going 4-of-6 from deep.
Utah has made a habit of raining in 3-pointers this season, with 23 going through the net in this blowout of Brooklyn.
With the easy victory, the Jazz moved to 32-11 as they hit the NBA trade deadline. They comfortably hold the No. 1 seed in the West and likely won't be too busy on Thursday, but improvements can always be made to a contending roster.
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