By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Down 13 heading into the second half, Utah Jazz superstar Donovan “Spida” Mitchell knew it was his time to shine.
Facing the league’s elite perimeter defenders in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, the crafty shooting guard found his stride and carried the Jazz to a 112-109 Game 1 Western Conference Semifinals win against the Los Angeles Clippers.
It was a rough shooting start for the Jazz after missing 20 consecutive shots in the second quarter before Jordan Clarkson finally nailed a three-pointer from the corner.
Clippers’ head coach Tyronn Lue played his cards well when he unleashed Luke Kennard and Demarcus Cousins in the second quarter where both players shined to build a double digit lead over the Jazz entering halftime.
Kennard was unconscious from the field in the first half after burying three triples and one blow-by jumper while Cousins was able to force a defensive stop and rallied a 5-0 burst of his own.
However, Mitchell and the Jazz became too much for the Clippers in the second half and began to knock down their three-point attempts to get back into the ball game.
Mitchell finished the game with a game-high 45 points while dishing out five dimes and added three rebounds to his Game 1 resume.
Scoring forward Bojan Bogdanovic also helped in the scoring column with 18 while Clarkson, who was named as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, knocked down 6 three-point shots.
The Clippers had their chance to tie the ball game at 112 but Marcus Morris Sr.’s corner three-point attempt was blocked by defensive specialist Rudy Gobert who finished the game with two swats, 10 boards, and 10 points.
Leonard and George top-scored for the Clippers with 23 and 20, respectively, and will try to even the series in Game 2.
