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Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz outlast Lou Williams and the LA Clippers

By Zachary Padmore

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 30: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball against the LA Clippers on November 30, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 30: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball against the LA Clippers on November 30, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Utah Jazz hosted the Los Angeles Clippers last night in a game that featured an exciting matchup between rookie Donovan Mitchell and Lou Williams.

The Utah Jazz and LA Clippers have had similar seasons. Both of their star players have been out for quite a bit of the season, and they are both battling for playoff spots in the deep Western Conference.

The Clippers came into Utah last night red hot, winners of six in a row. Blake Griffin is always a fun player to watch and he’s having another good season for LA, but last night, all eyes were on the match-up of Donovan Mitchell and Lou Williams.

Lou Williams has looked like an All-Star this season for the Clippers. He is averaging 23.4 points per game on the season, and even had a 50-point game against the Warriors earlier this month. He maintained his hot play by dropping 31 points on the Jazz last night, but ultimately Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz did a good job of forcing him into an inefficient outing that led to a 125-113 Utah victory.

It was clear coming into the game that Donovan was going to have to get into his grill, and force him into tough shots without fouling and he did a good job of doing just that. Williams went a decent 9-of-21 from the field, but just 2-of-8 from deep where he’s thrived of late. You don’t want to give a guy like Lou confidence early in the game, or it could be a long night for you. When he’s hot, he’s hot. When he’s cold, he’s cold. Luckily, the Jazz managed to stave off a hot shooting night.

A big reason for the win was that the Jazz were able to take advantage of a lackluster defensive performance by the Clippers. Looking specifically at the Williams-Mitchell matchup, Lou is an incredible offensive player, but not a great defensive player. When Mitchell was aggressive and attacked the basket at will, he found great success. Donovan finished the game with a team-high 23 points.

Although he struggled from beyond the arc (1-of-6), He was 8-of-10 on two-point field goals and added four more points in seven attempts from the free throw line, which shows how well he did when looking to go to the rim. DeAndre Jordan, a great rim protector, was out for last night’s game with an ankle injury, so that certainly helped Donovan and the Jazz get the edge.

Donovan has proven this season and once again last night that he is capable of being a good two-way player. Even though Williams had a big game himself, it was great to see Mitchell rise to the challenge and help lead his team to a win against such a prolific scorer like Sweet Lou.

Next: Utah Jazz vs. LA Clippers: Keys to a much-needed home win

Donovan Mitchell and Co. will face off against the Clippers a final time near the end of the season on April 5th. The Utah Jazz will now head out on a three-game Eastern Conference road trip, so in many ways last night’s battle could’ve been viewed as a must-win, making it all the more important that they were able to come out on top.

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