Can Donovan Mitchell Lead Jazz To Game 5 Win?

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz were able to extend the series against the Houston Rockets behind a huge game from Donovan Mitchell where he scored 31 points with 19 in the fourth quarter.

Was Mitchell’s performance in Game 4 just holding off the inevitable or do the Jazz really have a shot to become the first NBA team to ever come back from a 3-0 deficit?

There have been just three times that a team has forced a Game 7 in the NBA playoffs and there have been only 11 teams down 3-1 in a playoff series to come back to take the series.

As expected, Utah is pegged as an 8.5-point underdog on the road against Houston and it will take a huge effort just to force a Game 6 on Friday in Salt Lake City.

Donovan Mitchell Provides Optimism

KSL Sports’ Alex Kirry and Scott Mitchell are split on how far this series will go. On one hand, it has never been done with a team overcoming being down three games to none but then there is always a first time for everything.

“Donovan Mitchell revived the hopes of Jazz fans, but we know the numbers are not good as in it has never happened coming back 0-3 in a seven-game series in the NBA,” Kirry said on KSL’s Unrivaled.

Even being down 3-1 is a long shot but not impossible and that is what Kirry’s co-host Scott Mitchell feels about this series.

“You know what I think about that? It is time it should. Every time I hear that ‘it has never happened before’ then it is about time it should happen and I know it’s hard,” Scott said.

What if Donovan has a great game for the Jazz against the Rockets and happens to win Game 5, well that would put him in even higher in fan support if that is even possible to imagine.

NO SURPRISE: Donovan Mitchell is a finalist for the NBA Cares Community Assist Award. Now YOU can vote for him to win. https://t.co/hWxzM5Z1MB

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 24, 2019

“The Donovan Mitchell lore and love for him in the community is amazing,” Kirry said. “The guy stops for an accident the other day and the community looks at that like I look at a carton of ice cream where I have never be so in love’ with something in my whole life’ … and we can’t take our eyes off of him.

“If he wins one more game in this series, I’m not saying win it not even force Game 7, if they win Game 5 the love he has in this community will be that much more.”

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Jazz coverage:

• Being down 3-1 is tough, but not impossible
• Is it title or bust for Utah Jazz fans longterm?
• It’s OK if the Jazz never win a title

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What If Jazz Do Not Win Game 5?

The Jazz were never expected to win this series against the Rockets and the only real surprise was the first two games at the Toyota Center which saw a pair of blowouts by a combined 52 points.

Winning Game 4 and not getting swept is a boost to the confidence for the team and fanbase, so losing 4-1 will not be a shock. In reality, not winning Game 5 really is OK, but don’t tell that to anyone on the Jazz as they rightfully will be giving it all on Wednesday night.

📹| "You can always control how well you compete and I think we were able to continue to compete." pic.twitter.com/wPzveRXUzC

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 23, 2019

Outside of winning this game for the Jazz and returning to Salt Lake City, the next best scenario would be to have this game down in Houston be a close one because another blowout would be a huge damper heading into the offseason.

Yes, that would mean losing the series and being eliminated from the postseason but the team needs at the very least a moral victory with Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Rudy Gobert, and others step up and not get blown out for a third time this series.

Tune into KSL’s Unrivaled every Monday through Friday, 7-9 p.m., or download the KSL NewsRadio app to subscribe to the podcast.