Donovan Mitchell: Jazz Have to 'Come out Ready to Play' in Game 3 vs. Rockets

The Utah Jazz seized home-court advantage from the top-seeded Houston Rockets in their second-round playoff series on Wednesday with a 116-108 victory at the Toyota Center, but guard Donovan Mitchell was already focused on Game 3 in front of the home fans at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

As Sports Illustrated shared, the rookie recognized what is at stake even after the Game 2 win on the road, saying, "We've been here before ... We just gotta come out ready to play."

Utah also earned a split in the first two road games in its opening-round matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder and took advantage by winning Games 3 and 4 at home to take control of the series. Mitchell, who finished with 17 points, 11 assists and five rebounds despite shooting just 6-of-21 from the field, appeared ready to replicate that formula against the Rockets.

Mitchell's ability to impact the game in other ways even when his shots weren't falling proved critical, and his facilitating with point guard Ricky Rubio out because of injury helped keep his teammates involved.

Joe Ingles poured in 27 points while connecting on seven of nine shots from deep, Alec Burks added 17 points and six assists off the bench, and Rudy Gobert notched a double-double with 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

That type of balanced effort will be necessary to keep up with the likes of James Harden (32 points, 11 assists and six rebounds) and Chris Paul (23 points) in the next two contests in Utah, where the Jazz will attempt to put Houston on the brink of elimination much like they did Oklahoma City.

Capitalizing on home court allowed Mitchell and the Jazz to survive a Game 5 collapse against the Thunder and still win the series.

That will be much easier said than done against a Rockets team that finished with the best record in the NBA and features an All-Star backcourt capable of taking over at a moment's notice, but the Jazz have not backed down in this series and are a potential roadblock to the Houston Rockets' first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2015.