Jazz rout Nuggets with Donovan Mitchell’s big 3rd quarter to even series

In Game 2, the Utah Jazz evened the series with a blowout win over the Denver Nuggets.

After Donovan Mitchell’s 57 points weren’t enough for the Utah Jazz to win Game 1, the situation looked grim in Salt Lake City. However, a more concentrated burst from Mitchell in Game 2 proved to be the difference, evening this first-round playoff series at one game apiece.

Though Mitchell “only” recorded 30 points and eight assists in Game 2 after scoring the third-most points in a game in NBA playoff history for the series opener, his third quarter on Wednesday helped turn Utah’s double-digit advantage into a full-blown rout.

Mitchell only had six points at halftime, but ignited for 21 in the third. Combined with Utah’s red-hot 3-point shooting (20-for-44 overall) and a 43-29 advantage in the third quarter, the Jazz turned a decent lead into an unassailable advantage to beat the Denver Nuggets handily in Game 2.

Rudy Gobert chipped in 19 points while Joe Ingles added 18. The Nuggets, meanwhile, were led by 28 points, 11 rebounds and six assists from Nikola Jokic, as well as 28 points from Michael Porter Jr. Despite shooting an efficient 13-for-27 from deep (48.1 percent), Denver was still outscored by 21 points from beyond the arc.

What else did you miss in Game 2 between the Nuggets and Jazz?

Unsung hero: Jordan Clarkson

Maybe “unsung” isn’t the most accurate description, since every time Jordan Clarkson steps on the court, his high-volume shooting is the musical equivalent of nonstop screams demanding your attention. But unlike most games, where Clarkson records as many points as he does shot attempts and winds up with an ugly plus/minus, the Jazz’s sixth man was terrific in Game 2.

Finishing with a playoff career-high 26 points, Clarkson shot a tidy 9-for-18 from the floor and 4-for-9 from 3-point range, finishing as a plus-22. This was an encouraging improvement on his Game 1 performance, when he tallied 18 points on 2-of-9 shooting from deep and was a minus-15.

Single-game plus/minus can be tricky to sort out, but for most of his recent seasons, Clarkson has been the Lord of the Plus/Minus Underworld despite his scoring numbers. In Game 2, he was efficient and actively contributed to building Utah’s double-digit lead.

Turning point: 3rd quarter shooting spree

While the Jazz held a 13-point lead at halftime, it was their red-hot 3-point shooting in the third quarter that put the game out of reach for good. Denver shot an impressive 5-for-12 from downtown in the quarter, which would normally be pretty good! Over four quarters, those numbers would’ve put them on pace for 20 made 3s on nearly 42 percent shooting for the game.

But somehow, the Jazz blasted those numbers into oblivion, shooting an absurd 10-for-14 from downtown — including five straight makes — in the third quarter. That’s 71.4 percent!

With 30 of their points coming from distance, they outscored the Nuggets 43-29 in the period and turned a steady 13-point lead into an insurmountable 27-point advantage. Mitchell was sensational in that stretch, knocking down five of those 10 3s, assisting on three more and getting fouled on a 3-point attempt that earned him three easy points off free throws.

Key matchup: Battle of the benches

This was less of a battle and more of a massacre in Game 2. Clarkson obviously skewed the numbers in Utah’s favor, but it’s worth noting he nearly outscored Denver’s entire bench by himself, and most of the Nuggets’ bench points game in garbage time.

In Game 1, the Nuggets had the advantage when their second unit outscored Utah’s bench 38-26. In Game 2, the Jazz second unit won that battle 43-30, and again, most of Denver’s bench scoring came in the fourth quarter with the result all but decided.

This was an embarrassing turn of events for the Nuggets’ floundering defense, especially against a Jazz team short on depth with both Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley out. Conley could be back for Game 3, so this was really a squandered opportunity for the Nuggets to take a commanding 2-0 lead against a shorthanded opponent. Instead, they got lit up by a bench made up of Clarkson, Georges Niang and Emmanuel Mudiay. Yikes.