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SALT LAKE CITY — Paul Millsap stared down Donovan Mitchell. A few moments later, he realized that had been a terrible mistake.
As the clock ticked under 1 minute remaining, Mitchell isolated Millsap. One dribble, two dribbles, then a crossover and pull-up 3. After that, it was Mitchell’s turn to stare.
“I want this!” Mitchell screamed as he walked back after delivering the back-breaking 3-pointer.
Mitchell scored 51 points on Sunday — becoming just the third player in NBA history to hit the 50-point mark twice in the same playoff series — and led the Utah Jazz to a 129-127 win over the Denver Nugget in Game 4 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Mitchell was 15-of-27 from the field, including 4-of-7 from the 3-point line, on his way to another historic total. He joins Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players to reach 50 points multiple times in a single series.
"He was terrific. He's a terrific player,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. “I think the way that he answered everything that was going on, even early, was able to pick his spots, hit tough shots — he's playing with a level of confidence right now that is very high.”
That was seen when Mitchell dropped 18 points in the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly keeping the Nuggets at bay. The Nuggets were desperate and (for the first time in almost a week) putting up a fight.
“That particular game, in itself, was probably the most important game of the series for us,” Mitchell said.
The Jazz knew the Nuggets were going to come out aggressive. Denver had been embarrassed for two games and the Jazz figured pride would kick in at some point.
Jamal Murray put on a historic performance in his own right, scoring 50 points (he and Mitchell became the first two opponents in ployoff history to both have 50-point games), including 21 in the fourth quarter to try and pull the Nuggets back into the series.
But if that was Denver's best punch, then the Jazz are set to land the knock-out on Tuesday in Game 5. And Mitchell looks like a prizefighter ready to do just that.
Denver adjusting its starting lineup — benching seeding-game star Michael Porter Jr. and supposed “Donovan stopper” Torrey Craig for Jerami Grant and Monte Morris — to help with energy and defense. They also stuck on shooters, making the Jazz beat them more with floaters and drives to the hoop. That forced more isolation play than normal, and the Jazz finished with just 14 assists as a team.
Good thing Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley are pretty in isolation, too.
“You're not always going to have assists; that's not always a product of how you're playing,” Snyder said. “They were staying with shooters. We didn't get as many threes. We were attacking the basket. I think that's the biggest thing if the shots aren't there, to attack the rim.”
The Jazz did, and by the third quarter they were in a familiar place. Powered by big quarters from Mitchell, Conley, Rudy Gobert and Clarkson, the Jazz outscored the Nuggets by 9 in the third to take a lead they would never surrender.
Conley finished the game with 26 points, Clarkson had 24, and Gobert added 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
“We couldn’t get enough stops,” Denver head coach Michael Malone said.
Especially when it mattered.
When the Nuggets made a push at the end of the second quarter, they allowed Conley, who finished with 26 points, to walk into a pull-up 3 that kick-started a 5-0 Jazz run to pull within one at the half.
And when Murray was on the verge of bringing the Nuggets back from being 11-down in the fourth, Mitchell struck. He scored 13 straight points in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, making strong drives, clutch shots and pressure free throws down the stretch. Even when it appeared Denver had stopped him, it just put more wood on his fire.
With 1:02 remaining in the game, and the Jazz up by just one, Mitchell drove hard to the hoop but was blocked by Millsap. As Mitchell fell to the ground, the former Jazz forward mean-mugged and stared him down.
A stare Mitchell returned when he hit the game-breaking 3.
“That shot was just a symbol of how much the team wants it,” Mitchell said. “We've worked hard to get to this point, but the job's not finished. As good as this one feels, we won by 2. And now it's on to Game 5.”
