Donovan Mitchell Alley-Oop To Rudy Gobert For Jazz Game-Winner
Apr 23, 2022, 5:24 PM | Updated: 5:29 pm
Utah Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and three-time DPOY Rudy Gobert (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Jazz All-Star duo Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert connected on an alley-oop late to give them the lead over the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks had a 99-98 lead with 11 seconds left before Donovan Mitchell threw an alley-oop to Rudy Gobert to give them a 100-99 lead. Utah’s defense was great on the last possession after doubling Luka Doncic, forcing him to pass to Spencer Dinwiddie and throwing up a contested jumper.
Mitchell finished with 23 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
For Dallas, Doncic had 30 points to lead the way, while Jalen Brunson added 23 points.
JAZZ WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/nbta8IWgjg
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 23, 2022
The Utah Jazz are still preaching defense after dropping consecutive games in their opening-round series against the Dallas Mavericks.
At practice on Friday, reserve guard Jordan Clarkson discussed the defensive issues plaguing the Jazz in Games 2 and 3.
“Right now there’s a big focus on our defense, everybody’s talking about that and has made a point of emphasis on that,” Clarkson said. “We’re taking account for it.”
In their back-to-back losses, the Jazz have had the worst defensive rating among playoff teams at 128.3 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Led by breakout star Jalen Brunson, the Mavericks guards have wreaked havoc on Jazz defenders by repeatedly attacking the paint and either finishing near the rim, or kicking the ball out to open shooters.
Though the Jazz vowed to fix the issue after Game 2, the Mavericks’ three-point shooting was once again a key factor in Game 3.
“It kind of puts us in rotations,” Clarkson said of the difficulty containing Brunson. “But I feel like that’s somewhere where we’ve just all got to have each other’s back and rotate and communicate.”
The Jazz and Mavericks can be heard on KSL NewsRadio and The Zone Sports Network. The game will be televised on TNT, AT&T SportsNet and FuboTV.
