Donovan Mitchell’s Near Triple Double Helps Jazz Grind Out Win Over Pacers

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell nearly had a triple double in their 103-95 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon.

It’s the fourth straight win and 15 of their last 16 as Donovan Mitchell nearly had a triple double with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists for the Jazz against the Pacers. Rudy Gobert added 16 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points and 5 boards. Jordan Clarkson scored 17 points off the bench. It was the first game without Mike Conley who was out with hamstring tightness, an injury he suffered on Friday night in their win over Charlotte.

Mitchell nearly had a triple double. The last time a Jazz player recorded a regular season triple double was Carlos Boozer on February 13, 2008 against the Seattle SuperSonics. Mitchell nearly picked up that final rebound in the last seconds of the game but the ball slipped out of his hands and went out of bounds.

Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Doug McDermott had 18 points off the bench. Malcom Brogdon contributed 15 points and 7 assists.

The @utahjazz finish their road trip 3-0 and have the best record in the NBA at 18-5.

Jazz beat the @pacers 103-95.

Extremely impressive performance. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/RzoDfdTPnX

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 7, 2021

Donovan Mitchell Reaches Double Figures In First Half

It was a slow start for the Jazz as a team but the Pacers started strong, making four three-pointers and 5 of their first six shots came from beyond the arc. The Jazz settled in and was able to climb back into the game after trailing 12-6 early. Donovan Mitchell scored 8 of the Jazz first 11 points and 11 of their first 20.

Jordan Clarkson came in and knocked down two quick three-pointers in his first minute off the bench.

It was a close game throughout the first half as the Jazz and Pacers were tied at 47. Mitchell scored 16 points, he also pulled down 5 rebounds and dished out 4 assists in the first half. He shot 6-of-16 from the field and 3-for-5 from downtown.

Utah shot 38 percent from the field and 39 percent from the perimeter in the first half, while holding the Pacers to 41 percent field goal shooting and 40 percent from three.

A good first quarter from the @utahjazz after a slow start and lead 25-20.

Jazz end the quarter on a 19-8 run and are led by Donovan Mitchell who has 11 points. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/8eXUsh2fop

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 7, 2021

Jazz Grind Out Win In Second Half Against Pacers

After a tied score at halftime, the Jazz came out firing in the third quarter with 28 points and holding Indiana to 21 points. The Jazz had a balanced attack offensively with 7 points from Bojan Bogdanovic, 6 from Jordan Clarkson, 5 points from both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Royce O’Neale added three points and Joe Ingles scored a bucket.

The Pacers climbed back into the game with an 8-0 run before Ingles stopped the small run by the Pacers with a layup. Indiana’s run reached 14-7 and Utah’s lead was just three points with 4 minutes left. Donovan Mitchell found Bojan Bogdanovic for a wide open three pointer to stretch the lead to 6. Then Gobert had a nice defensive stop on Domantas Sabonis at the rim, which led to a wide open triple by Ingles. The Jazz had a 94-86 lead with 3:49 remaining.

Utah hit some big shots down the stretch but the main thing was being able to grind out a win on the defensive end.

At the end of the third quarter, the @utahjazz lead the @pacers 75-68.

Clarkson found his groove late against Doug McDermott and is up to 15 points. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/s6kSN7qXn9

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 7, 2021

The Jazz improved their record to 19-5 on the season after sweeping the three-game road trip. They will return home for four straight games beginning on Tuesday, February 9 against the Boston Celtics. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. MST and will be televised on TNT.