Utah Jazz sensation sets season-high from downtown

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports)
Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports)

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has maintained his pre-break hot hand.

With his game-high 33 points for the Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell outdueled Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic down the stretch in Friday night’s 114-109 home win. In doing so, the fifth-year pro tallied a season-high seven makes beyond the arc and needed only 12 attempts.

Mitchell also added five assists, two rebounds, and a steal across his 36 minutes on the floor, helping to ensure the Jazz notched a seventh win in their past eight contests.

Between his last two outings leading up to the All-Star break, Mitchell shot a combined 10-for-20 from downtown. So the 25-year-old is now 17-for-32 (53.1 percent) from deep in his past three games and a respectable 35.7 percent for the season.

An eighth 3-pointer eluding the Utah Jazz gem in regular-season action

Friday night was the first time Donovan Mitchell has knocked down seven 3-pointers in a game this season, but it’s the third time he’s managed the feat as a pro in a regular-season clash. The last time, however, was roughly two years ago. And the time before that was way back in his rookie campaign.

Except in the playoffs — where Mitchell has twice finished with nine splashes from deep — the former low lottery pick has never totaled eight made threes in a game.

Trailing only the 1,071 from Joe Ingles, Mitchell already sits No. 2 on the franchise’s all-time 3-point list with 886 makes across the mere 325 games he has played in the regular season.

Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz (37-22), still No. 4 in the Western Conference standings, return to action at 1:30 p.m. MT in a road bout against the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns (49-11). The showdown will air on national TV (ABC).

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