DONOVAN Mitchell scored 32 of his 45 points in the second half as the Utah Jazz rallied to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-109 Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila) in Salt Lake City to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
After the Jazz made a big comeback in the second half to take a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter– after trailing by as many as 14– the Clippers rallied late to put themselves in a position to force overtime.
Utah’s defense, however, denied them that opportunity. Rudy Gobert, the favorite to win a third Defensive Player of the Year award, blocked Marcus Morris’ last-second 3-point attempt after the Jazz defense denied Kawhi Leonard and Paul George from getting a good look in the final 15 seconds.
The Jazz took the early series lead despite the absence of All-Star point guard Mike Conley, who was sidelined due to a strained right hamstring. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Thursday (Friday in Manila) in Salt Lake City.
In the other game, Joel Embiid scored a playoff-career-high 40 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the host Philadelphia 76ers evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 118-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2.
Once again, Embiid was questionable to play shortly before tipoff due to a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.
Along with Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson helped pick up the offensive slack for Utah with 18 points apiece. Joe Ingles added eight points with seven assists, while Mitchell also dished out five dimes. — Field Level Media
