Donovan Mitchell After Jazz's Game 7 Loss vs. Nuggets: 'This Won't Happen Again'

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is not ready to feel the pain of another playoff loss anytime soon.

"We went from being an unsalvageable team three months ago to this," he said following Tuesday's 80-78 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series, per Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. "This won't happen again."  

Utah appeared to be in control of the series when it went up 3-1 through four games, but the Nuggets—largely behind Jamal Murray—came storming back to win three straight.

A back-and-forth battle fittingly came down to the final shot during a hectic closing stretch in the decisive contest. It appeared as if Denver was going to win when Gary Harris forced a Mitchell turnover with less than 10 seconds remaining, but Torrey Craig missed a layup on the other end and gave Utah one more opportunity.

Mike Conley dribbled down the court and had a look from three to win it, but it just rimmed out.

The anguish was clear for Mitchell, who collapsed onto the floor after leading his team back from a double-digit deficit with 22 points and nine rebounds.

It was hard to blame Mitchell after the series as he was individually brilliant throughout and battled Murray in a memorable showdown. The University of Louisville product dropped 57 points in Game 1, 51 points in Game 4 and 44 points in Game 6 while ascending to another level of stardom as a third-year playmaker.

Still, his team lost in the first round for the second straight year after doing so last season to the Houston Rockets.

Mitchell knows what it's like to win a postseason series from Utah's first-round victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017-18, and he is clearly motivated to return to that feeling following such a crushing defeat.

Just take his word for it that "this won't happen again."