The Utah Jazz jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter and didn’t look back as the Jazz rolled to a 126-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Wednesday.
With the win, the Jazz advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs and will await the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Dallas Mavericks matchup. The Mavericks currently hold a 3-2 series lead.
Despite being the No. 1 seed and being up 3-1 in the series, that didn’t stop Donovan Mitchell from thinking about last year’s 3-1 blown lead over the Denver Nuggets.
For Mitchell, it was all about starting fast and finishing strong. The all-star guard did just that as he 26 of his 30 points in the first half to lead the Jazz to victory. Mitchell also had 10 assists and six rebounds in 29 minutes.
“I think setting the tone was huge. We did that as unit on both ends of the floor and understanding that you can’t give a team like that life,” Mitchell said about Utah’s quick start.
“Donovan’s got better every single year since he’s got here and obviously having him back was key and was huge for us because of the way we’re playing now. It’s fun to play with Donovan,” said Rudy Gobert, who also had a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 points and eight rebounds to help power the top-seeded Jazz to their fourth straight victory. The Jazz also matched a franchise playoff record with nine 3-pointers in the first quarter.
“We really moved the ball, and when we do that, the first thing that has to happen is we have to space — we can’t be standing next to each other — to move the ball the way we want. We had the willingness to pass and to shoot,” said Utah head coach Quin Snyder.
