#8 – The Jazz stop the King (again) – December 30
The Utah Jazz held off the Cleveland Cavaliers by a score of 104-101 to hand LeBron James his seventh straight loss in Utah.
While some may think it’s impressive that LeBron James will be appearing in his eighth straight NBA Finals this week, I believe Jazz fans find it even more impressive that LeBron James has lost seven straight times in Salt Lake City. OK, so I’m being a little facetious here, but you have to admit, it’s still been a pretty impressive run, right?
For whatever reason, the Jazz have simply had LeBron’s number when he’s come to Vivint Smart Home Arena and his 2017-18 visit was no different. Despite experiencing a brutal month of December, there were some high points for the Jazz, including this exciting contest to close the month out.
The Cavs got off to a fast start, taking a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter. However, the Jazz hung in there and had a mammoth third quarter which saw them start out on a 23-3 run and ultimately outscore Cleveland 28-16. The Cavs weren’t about to go away, though, and nearly came back to take the lead in the final period.
But when all was said and done, the incredible heroics of Mitchell turned out to be too much for The King and his teammates. Donovan finished the night with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field which included a key bucket down the stretch to put Utah up 100-97. The Jazz would hold on from there to win the game 104-101.
The victory was not only a much-needed reprieve from a daunting month, but it also kept LeBron’s losing streak in Salt Lake City alive, making it seven straight. Following the contest, James had high praise for Mitchell as he said the following:
"”He’s a player. The kid had a lot of game and they’ve been riding that wave all season since they realized what they actually got. He’s not afraid of the moment. They put him in situations where he can succeed and he tries to take advantage of it.”"
An exhilarating victory that ended with the greatest player of our generation praising Donovan Mitchell. It doesn’t get much more memorable than that.