Utah Jazz: Mitchell & Co. clinch tie-breaker over Pelicans

In a game that featured multiple heroes, Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz clinched a tie-breaker with their win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Utah Jazz gave one of their more gutsy performances of the season on Sunday. Despite their own offensive struggles and a mammoth game from Anthony Davis, Quin Snyder’s crew managed to secure a 116-99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. It was a big win for the Jazz band for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it was the team’s sixth straight win overall and 11th straight on the road. The latter is a big-time number; just four wins shy of the franchise record set by the Stockton-to-Malone Jazz of 1995-96. Beyond the sheer number, though, the recent road success represents the maturation of a team from mediocrity to playoff-ready.

But if we’re looking specifically at the here and now, the big story coming out of this matinée match-up was Utah clinching the tie-breaker over the Pels.

With the victory, the Jazz won the season series with New Orleans (currently the West’s No. 4 team) 3-1. With just 1½ games separating NOLA, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the middle of the table from the Jazz at No. 10, tie-breakers could be the determining factor in the playoff race.

So, the Jazz’s win was an important one. But the way in which they captured it looms equally large. Not only did they fight back from what had been a nine-point deficit late in the third quarter, but they also got big-time efforts from multiple players. In a league where stars win and individual performances reign supreme, the Jazz didn’t have one hero on Sunday, they had like…seven.

As one might expect, Donovan Mitchell was the one that saved Utah’s bacon in the clutch. After scoring just two points on 1-of-8 shooting in the first half, Mitchell came alive down the stretch. He finished the night with 27 points, slicing and dicing his way to tin or launching from left field for back-breaking buckets with regularity.

At one point, he scored 18 straight points for the Jazz. It was ultimately the burst that helped the Jazz pull away in what had been a back-and-forth contest.

None of his shots were more impressive than this act of acrobatics, however —

Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles owned the court as well. While Davis put up 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots, Gobert managed a cool 19-16-3 line and kept AD from taking over late. He got beat a handful of times throughout the game, but was able to hang tough and anchor a defense that held NOLA to an offensive rating of just 97.3 in the game.

Meanwhile, Ingles had the kind of night that has some calling him a top 10 small forward in the league. He was ever the steadying force on the floor for the Jazz and racked up 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added five dimes.

As good as Mitchell, Gobert and Ingles were, though, the game ball may belong to Ricky Rubio. He dropped 30 on the Pels in the game, hitting from deep (to the tune of 4-for-5 from 3-point range), the mid-range and in the paint along the way. He also grabbed 10 boards and dished out seven assists.

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The rebounds in particular made a big difference in the game for the Jazz. Rubio coming in from the backcourt to clean the glass allowed him kick-start possessions and crank up the pace. By night’s end, the Jazz had attempted 96 shots, more than 13 attempts over their season average.

When Rubio can have that kind of impact as both a scorer and a quarterback for the offense, the Jazz become very difficult to beat.

Next up for the blue, green and gold crew is a home game with the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Tip-off will be at 7:00 PM mt.