Donovan Mitchell helped spark a statement first quarter from the Utah Jazz.
In the early going of the Utah Jazz’s dominant first quarter at home against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, Donovan Mitchell schooled Charlotte Hornets second-year point guard LaMelo Ball with a brilliant carousel move in the paint.
The shake and score came eight seconds after the two-time All-Star’s defensive rebound. After Mitchell’s crossover dribble left Hornets big man Mason Plumlee doing a double-take, the 25-year-old completed a full circle around both the rim and the 20-year-old Ball before finding paydirt with a smooth left-handed finger roll from a few feet out.
Within minutes, Mitchell had garnered recognition from the official Utah Jazz Twitter account for his dizzying display. The tweet from the franchise referred to the move as one of many trademarked “Donovan things”:
donovan things™️#TakeNote | @spidadmitchell pic.twitter.com/kbiOqOl8nq
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 21, 2021
Utah Jazz benefitting from these Donovan Mitchell things
The above bucket from Donovan Mitchell resulted in an 11-2 Utah lead and set the stage for what ended up as a 35-16 Jazz advantage to begin the second quarter. The fifth-year pro and former No. 13 overall draft pick finished the first quarter with eight points, one rebound, and one assist while shooting 3-for-4 from the field and 2-for-3 beyond the arc.
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By halftime, the Utah Jazz held a 54-41 edge. Mitchell went into the break with 13 points, three boards, and one dime after registering a +18 in his 16 minutes on the floor. Meanwhile, LaMelo Ball struggled in the first-half scoring department to the tune of only four points while shooting 2-for-8 from the field and ending the half with a -20 plus-minus.
Utah entered the game against the Charlotte Hornets (16-16) at No. 3 in the Western Conference with a 20-9 record. But the NBA’s reigning regular-season champs were coming off consecutive losses in Salt Lake City at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night and the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.