Donovan Mitchell On Getting Booed: It’s Part Of The Game
Apr 22, 2022, 11:19 AM
Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz shoots over Reggie Bullock #25 of the Dallas Mavericks during the second half of Game Three of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 21, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz fans booed their team on Thursday night when they were getting picked apart by the Dallas Mavericks and Donovan Mitchell addressed it.
With the series tied at one game apiece entering Thursday night and the Jazz playing at home, they didn’t feed off the loud crowd inside Vivint Arena in the first half. Dallas had a 68-51 lead at the break. The Mavericks had a big lead because they shot 52% from the three-point line, making 13 of their 25 attempts.
As the first half horn sounded, the sold out Vivint Arena booed the team as they went to the locker room. The crowd booed the Jazz once again at the end of the game as the Mavericks were about to pick up the win, a 2-1 series lead and regain homecourt advantage.
After the loss, Donovan Mitchell was asked about getting booed by the Jazz faithful.
“It’s part of the game,” Mitchell said. “We weren’t playing well. I booed the hell out of the TV when I was a fan. It’s nothing personal. There is an expectation on us. There is no secret about that. They expect us to take care of business and we didn’t in the first half. We got booed. It is what it is. The team that bounced back, that showed what our character is. If they want to boo, they can boo.”
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Donovan Mitchell on the @utahjazz fans boos at home.
"It's part of the game, I booed the hell of the TV when I was a fan."#TakeNote | @kslsports
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) April 22, 2022
Quin Snyder decided to go with a smaller lineup in the third quarter and that sparked a big run that eventually cut the deficit to one point in the fourth quarter. But the comeback wasn’t completed as the Mavericks picked up a 126-118 win.
Game 4 will be on Saturday, April 23 at 2:30 p.m. MT on TNT, AT&T SportsNet and FuboTV. The game can be heard on The Zone Sports Network and KSL Newsradio.
