Jazz steal a chippy Game 2 from Rockets to tie up series: 3 takeaways

After giving up a 19-point lead, the Utah Jazz punched back and stole a road win over the Houston Rockets in Game 2.

The Utah Jazz were on the ropes after coughing up a 19-point lead in Game 2 against the Houston Rockets. With James Harden in MVP mode, the Rockets went up by five points in the third quarter and appeared to be on the verge of running away to a 2-0 series lead. Instead, the Jazz responded and earned a hard-fought 116-108 road victory to steal away homecourt advantage.

Playing once again without Ricky Rubio, Utah stormed out of the gates behind Donovan Mitchell’s playmaking and Joe Ingles’ shooting. The Jazz’s lead surged to 19 points midway through the second quarter before Harden took over and turned the tide. But Utah stemmed that tide and took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter, where it took a team effort to stymie Houston and score enough to secure the win.

Four different Jazz players scored at least five points in the fourth quarter, while only three players scored period for the Rockets. Houston shot just 6-of-25 from the field and 3-of-12 from 3 in the final frame. A 16-2 Jazz run after the Rockets took a two-point lead with just over eight minutes left proved to be the difference.

Dante Exum put the exclamation point on the game with a running slam:

An ugly Chris Paul turnover was the final nail in the coffin, and we have ourselves a series as it shifts to Utah for Friday’s Game 3.

Takeaways

The Jazz destroyed the Rockets from the 3-point line. The Rockets are historically prolific when it comes to shooting 3-pointers, but in this game it was the Jazz that did significant damage from long distance. Utah made 15 of its 32 3-point attempts, with Ingles going 7-of-9 from deep. The Aussie hit three triples in the first quarter as the Jazz jumped out ahead, and then he hit two long-range bombs in the fourth quarter to help seal the deal. He finished with a playoff career-high 27 points.

Meanwhile, Houston shot only 10-of-37 on 3-pointers. Harden scored a game-high 32 points, but he made only two of his 10 3-point attempts and had a few really ugly tries. P.J. Tucker missed two key 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter as the Rockets were trying to come back, and there were several other big misses late. This 3-point disparity will likely be an outlier, but it was huge in determining this outcome.

Donovan Mitchell played a strong game despite shooting poorly. The rookie finished with 17 points on 6-of-21 shooting, marking the first time he failed to reach 20 points in this postseason. He forced up a handful of questionable shot attempts and dealt with foul trouble. Despite this, he still played a stellar game overall.

With Rubio sidelined and the Jazz needing a facilitator, Mitchell stepped into that role beautifully to start Game 2. He racked up five assists in the first quarter and made excellent reads in the pick-and-roll. The Jazz carved up the Rockets’ aggressive defense to open up the game, with numerous easy buckets at the rim courtesy of Mitchell’s vision. He then added four more assists in the fourth quarter to finish with 11 for the game, a new career-high. The rookie also finished a game-best plus-13.

We know Mitchell is an explosive scorer, but developing as a playmaker will be a key factor in determining his ceiling. The reads he was making in Game 2 were advanced and a good sign for his future in that area.

Oh, and did I mention he’s an explosive scorer?

Next: 30 best NBA players who never won a championship

The Jazz got a big lift from their bench. Exum’s hammer dunk wasn’t his only significant contribution. He also hit his first 3-pointers of the playoffs and played hounding defense against the Rockets’ All-Star backcourt. Both of his triples came after potentially momentum-shifting buckets for Houston. Exum has been a major question mark due to his injury woes, so it was nice to see him contributing like this in such a big win.

Alec Burks and Jae Crowder also stepped up off Utah’s bench. Burks racked up 17 points in 22 minutes, giving him his highest point total since scoring 17 in a game in late January. He handed out six assists to boot. Crowder notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, plus he added his usual scrappiness.

On the backs of these three players, the Jazz enjoyed a 41-22 advantage in bench points. Eric Gordon had 15 points off the Rockets’ bench, but he shot just 5-of-16 and none of their other reserves did much.