Now that they’ve found solid ground again with three straight wins, the Utah Jazz will face one of their biggest tests yet on Wednesday, hosting the Golden State Warriors in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz will be aiming for their fourth straight victory since bouncing back from a very shaky 4-12 month of January.
It certainly helps having Donovan Mitchell back in the fold.
Mitchell led the Jazz over the New York Knicks 113-104 Monday night with 32 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. He was the spark behind a late 11-1 run that clinched the win for Utah.
This was the three-time All-Star’s second game since returning from the NBA’s concussion protocols that kept him out for eight games.
“Honestly, being out you can see a lot of different things — what’s needed, what we can do better, what’s going wrong,” Mitchell said. “For me, finding ways I can impact the game outside of scoring, outside of stuff on offense — or even if it is on offense, little things.”
Mitchell played an exhausting 36 minutes, but he saved just enough for a spectacular steal and windmill dunk in the final moments. The play was reminiscent of Mitchell’s bouncier days early in his career when he won the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie in 2018.
“We know what he can do offensively,” Jazz point guard Mike Conley said. “When we see (his big plays), it just gets us all going. We’re very excited with the way he approached tonight and finished the game.”
The Jazz are also getting big contributions from an unexpected source — 22-year-old Udoka Azubuike, a 7-foot center from Kansas who is getting extra minutes due to injuries to All-Star center Rudy Gobert and recent health and foul issues from Hassan Whiteside.
Azubuike hauled in 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive boards, and blocked three shots with seven points in Monday’s win. He was on the court when the Jazz took over the final five minutes after Whiteside fouled out. The third-year center is averaging 11.7 rebounds per game during the Jazz’s winning streak.
“I told him, ‘Look, you’re going to mess up. It’s going to happen,'” Mitchell told the Salt Lake Tribune. “But the thing about Dok is, he messes up at 125 percent. We all love that.”
The Warriors are loving the contributions they’re getting from Klay Thompson, who is 12 games into his return from a two-and-a-half-year absence due to knee and Achilles injuries.
Thompson hit a pair of crucial 3-pointers Monday to help stave off an Oklahoma City rally as the Warriors won their ninth game in a row, 110-98 over the Thunder. OKC had pulled within five when Thompson stepped up on the road.
A five-time All-Star, Thompson led Golden State in scoring against OKC with 21 points to go with Steph Curry’s near-triple-double of 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
“It was great to see Klay hit those back-to-back 3’s to kind of seal the win,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “Just fun to have him back, and he looks great out there. He’s moving great. It’s fun to be able to play him.”
Utah made a hard push late in its most recent game against Golden State, but the Warriors held on for a 94-92 win two weeks ago. The Warriors won the first matchup on New Year’s Day in Salt Lake City, 123-116.
