Utah’s record-breaking 3-point night downs Orlando
FILE PHOTO: Mar 27, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) dribbles up the court during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Russell Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points and led the Utah Jazz’s 3-point barrage with six in a 137-91 victory over the short-handed Orlando Magic on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 17 points, while Jordan Clarkson threw in 15 off the bench as the Jazz won their ninth straight overall and 22nd in a row at home.
Utah set an NBA record with 18 3-pointers in the first half, passing the 2018 Golden State Warriors (17). The Jazz finished hitting 26 of 55 from beyond the arc, including multiple makes by Mitchell (6-7), Ingles (5-7), Bogdanovic (4-6), Clarkson (3-6), two each by Georges Niang and Ersan Ilyasova, and one apiece from Royce O’Neale, Jarrell Brantley, Miye Oni and Matt Thomas.
Wendell Carter Jr. led the Magic with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Chuma Okeke added 16 points for a team whose criss-cross-the-country Los Angeles-New Orleans-Utah-Denver road trip ends Sunday night against the Nuggets.
The Magic were without Michael Carter-Williams (non-Covid illness), Otto Porter Jr. (left foot pain), Khem Birch (non-Covid illness) and Karim Mane (right hamstring).
Rudy Gobert tallied 11 points, six rebounds and four blocks. He did that in just 20 minutes in a game in which no starter logged more than 25 minutes.
In addition to the 3-point spree, the Jazz compiled 34 assists, 10 steals and a 50-39 rebound edge while shooting 55.4 percent from the field.
The Magic scored the first points on a Chasson Randle layup, but that lead disappeared 14 seconds later and there was no drama left in who’d come out on top by the end of the first quarter with Utah up 38-20. The Jazz followed that with a 40-20 second quarter for a 78-40 halftime lead.
Orlando chipped away at the lead a little bit, never making a serious run, but the Jazz reserves finished strong with a 30-19 fourth quarter. That resulted in Utah taking its largest win of the season margin-wise (46 points) on the road for games in Dallas and Phoenix next week.
–Field Level Media
