The Utah Jazz needed to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the Houston Rockets to stave off a first-round sweep, mustering a 107-91 Game 4 win to avoid elimination.
That crucial performance would not only include a game-high 31-point performance by Donovan Mitchell, but also three double-doubles from his teammates to make it happen.
Ricky Rubio posted 18 points and 11 assists, while bench cogs like Derrick Favors drummed up a 12-point, 11-rebound (six offensive) double-double, and Royce O'Neal hauled in 11 rebounds (all defensive) to go with his 11 points in the game.
While Rubio's performance was stellar, Favors' glass-pounding efforts were just as crucial, as he was the difference in a plus-7 advantage on the offensive boards, as well as a plus-17 rebounding margin altogether.
Jae Crowder added 23 points.
The Jazz were able to silence strong performances from James Harden (30 points) and Chris Paul's best performance of the postseason: 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and two blocks.
Utah was helped by a muted Rockets bench effort that only mustered five combined points (all from Austin Rivers) and shot a disappointing 2-of-16 from the floor, including 1-of-10 from deep.
The Jazz will need more of these collective efforts to upset the more talented Rockets, but keeping those role players from making 3-pointers as they usually do at home could prove easier said than done, considering the team has made 15 or more 3-pointers in each of the four games in this series.
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