Jazz bounce back with rout of Grizzlies to even series
Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz reacts after a play in Game Two of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies at Vivint Smart Home Arena on May 26, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Alex Goodlett/Getty Images/AFP
Donovan Mitchell returned to lead a balanced attack that overpowered a career-best, 47-point performance by Ja Morant and allowed the Utah Jazz to even their Western Conference playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies with a 141-129 victory on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.
Mitchell, who finished with a team-high 25 points, bombed in five 3-pointers in 10 tries. Teammates Mike Conley and Joe Ingles buried three apiece as the top-seeded Jazz, who led the NBA in the regular season in both most 3-pointers made and fewest allowed, dominated the eighth-seeded Grizzlies from beyond the arc to offset an upset loss in the series opener.
The scene shifts to Memphis with the Grizzlies hosting Game 3 on Saturday.
Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley come up big in the @utahjazz (1-1) Game 2 W! #TakeNote #NBAPlayoffs @rudygobert27: 21 PTS, 13 REB, 4 BLK@MCONLEY10: 20 PTS, 15 AST
Game 3: Saturday at 9:30pm/et on ESPN pic.twitter.com/TvwUUvQwv6
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2021
With Mitchell still nursing a sprained right ankle, Memphis shocked the West’s regular-season champs by holding them to 12-for-47 (25.5 percent) accuracy on 3-pointers in Game 1.
But Utah came out firing in the rematch, nailing 10 treys in the first half alone en route to a 74-54 lead at the break.
Morant and Dillon Brooks, who missed most of the first half in foul trouble, hit three hoops apiece in a 27-12 Grizzlies flurry in the latter stages of the third quarter to get Memphis within 96-93.
But Jordan Clarkson dropped in three free throws, Rudy Gobert threw down two dunks and Mitchell completed a three-point play in a 10-0 Utah burst bridging the third and fourth quarters that extended the lead back to double figures, and the Jazz kept Memphis at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Ja Morant goes off for a @memgrizz #NBAPlayoffs franchise record 47 PTS in Game 2!
Game 3: Saturday at 9:30pm/et on ESPN pic.twitter.com/qmk1meXBBk
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2021
Gobert shot 9-for-11 en route to 21 points and a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds for Utah, which hit 54.4 percent of its shots overall and 48.7 percent (19-for-39) on 3-pointers.
Conley also recorded a double-double with a game-high 15 assists to complement 20 points, while Bojan Bogdanovic (18), Clarkson (16), Royce O’Neale (14) and Ingles (14) made it seven Utah players scoring in double figures.
Morant’s 47 points surpassed his previous career-high of 44 set in December against San Antonio. He made 15 field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers, and a career-best 15 free throws en route to his total.
The second-year standout also found time for a team-high seven assists.
Brooks finished with 23 points for Memphis, which got double-figure scoring from all five starters but a total of just 14 points from five reserves.
Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. 16 and Kyle Anderson 11 for the Grizzlies, who also shot well overall (54.1 percent) but struggled to 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) on 3-pointers.
