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SALT LAKE CITY — The whistle had blown, but the action didn’t stop.
It’s safe to say that everyone at the sold-out Vivint Arena Monday night was thankful for that.
Donovan Mitchell had been fouled as he passed the ball ahead to Royce O’Neale. It was a foul that kept a fast break from happening — at least on the official scorebook. That whistle, though, didn’t stop O’Neale from throwing a lob, and it sure didn’t stop Mitchell from going up and getting it.
Mitchell caught the pass and delivered a windmill-dunk finish to the delight — not to mention the surprise — of the crowd.
And fortunately for the Jazz, that wasn’t Mitchell’s only highlight-worthy play of the night — and the rest of them counted — as he led the Jazz to their fifth straight win by defeating the Charlotte Hornets 111-102. Utah improved to 47-30 with the win and has now won 10 of its last 11 games.
In the first quarter, Ricky Rubio went out and Mitchell started to call the play he has grown so used to calling. It was a play for Kyle Korver, but there was a slight problem — Korver was sitting out due to a sore right knee.
“It was like, ‘Whoa, he's not here,’” Mitchell said. “It was a bit of an adjustment.”
Aside from Korver, they were also playing without Derrick Favors, who was sitting out with back spasms, which made for some interesting lineups at times as the Jazz were shorthanded.
In Game 77, the Jazz played two lineups they haven’t played all season. Unsurprisingly, that led to some inconsistent results on the offensive end. But it also provided a platform for players to step up, and the Jazz got a lot of that — especially from some of their key players.
Mitchell had 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting, Rubio had 20 points and 13 assists and Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 18 rebounds. But those three weren’t alone.
Thabo Sefolosha got hot from 3-point range, hitting four on his way to a 14-point effort, and O’Neale had 9 points and provided some excellent defense along the way.
“I think it’s just the way we play,” said Joe Ingles, who finished with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. “The guys that we have in the locker room, I guess we just kind of expect it. Obviously, it’s never a good thing to have guys injured or out, but every time it happens, we just know someone else will step up.”
And as a collective group, the Jazz kept the Hornets at arm’s length for much of the game. Utah led by as many as 20 points and held a double-digit lead for most of the second half.
With under four minutes remaining, Mitchell went up and under for a reverse layup after the Hornets had cut the Utah lead to 11 points. Those types of plays were common for the Jazz on Monday. Each time the Hornets looked like they were about to mount a rally, Utah had a response.
And they had a defense that kept the Hornets — outside of Kemba Walker — in check. Charlotte was 1-for-21 from 3-point range through the first three quarters of the game and only had three players reach double figures.
The game was only semi-close at the end because of Walker. The Charlotte point guard had 22 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 47 points for the game. He was 15-of-28 from the field and 4-of-8 from deep. Walker was superb, he just didn’t have much help.
“They aren’t going to stay cold that long and he isn’t either,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.
But Walker stayed cold long enough for Utah to get the win.
With five games remaining, the Jazz sit in the fifth spot in the Western Conference — two games behind both the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers. Utah has a half-game lead on the LA Clippers.
