Donovan Mitchell, Balanced Jazz Even Series vs. James Harden, Rockets

The Utah Jazz rebounded from a sluggish series opener and knotted the Western Conference semifinals at one game apiece behind a balanced 116-108 Game 2 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday night.

While the Jazz offense looked overmatched throughout a 110-96 Game 1 loss, head coach Quin Snyder's side had a response ready with a chance to steal a game on Houston's home floor.

Swingman Joe Ingles led a group of six double-figure scorers with a playoff career-high 27 points, while rookie Donovan Mitchell fought through some shooting struggles (6-of-21 from the field) to finish with a 17-point, 11-assist double-double.

Mitchell was especially clutch with seven fourth-quarter points, including a putback dunk that should be a staple of highlight reels for years to come:

Oh My..Donovan 😨

That effort also helped Mitchell join an exclusive club, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

"He's a handful," Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters about Mitchell after the loss. "Whether he's scoring or not, he's a handful."

Those contributions, combined with a 46.9 percent shooting display from three-point range, allowed Utah to establish a solid scoring foundation.

Plus, a steady diet of buckets—including 17 points from Alec Burks and 15 from Jae Crowder—gave the Jazz the freedom to play the game at their pace.

Instead of engaging in a run-and-gun showdown straight out of Mike D'Antoni's Seven Seconds or Less playbook, the Jazz were able to parlay their improved offensive efficiency into a slower, less frenetic tempo that favored their personnel, as the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen observed:

Thanks to that stylistic shift, the Jazz limited Houston to five fast-break points and 10-of-37 shooting from three a game after the Rockets drilled 17 shots from beyond the arc.

And while the Rockets fell behind by 19 in the second quarter, they were able to dictate the game's cadence more in the third when they outscored Utah by eight and took the lead for a few brief stretches. However, Utah refused to let James Harden (32 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds) and Chris Paul (23 points, five rebounds, three steals) grab a 2-0 series lead.

Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz - Game Highlights

Rather, the Jazz stuck to their principles, learned from their Game 5 slip-up against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Round 1 and closed by outscoring the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, 24-14, over the game's final eight minutes.

"That's in our character, to withstand the run," Mitchell told TNT's Kristen Ledlow after the win. "In OKC in Game 5, we were up about 20, about the same score, and we let the lead go. So we couldn't do that again. Dante Exum, Alec Burks, Joe Ingles, everybody stepped up and played well. I'm so proud of those guys."

The Jazz, improbable as it may have seemed after Game 1, will now aim for a 2-1 series lead when Game 3 tips off Friday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.