Donovan Mitchell Electric as Jazz Beat Zion Williamson, Pelicans
The Western Conference is loaded, but the Utah Jazz appear to be rounding into form as legitimate contenders.
Utah defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 118-102 in Tuesday's matchup at Vivint Smart Home Arena and extended its winning streak to six. Donovan Mitchell led a balanced effort for the victors, who are now 10-4 on the season.
New Orleans is trending in the opposite direction and fell to 5-8 overall and 1-6 in its last seven despite an impressive showing from Zion Williamson.
Notable Player Stats
- Donovan Mitchell, G, UTA: 28 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST
- Jordan Clarkson, G, UTA: 18 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST
- Rudy Gobert, C, UTA: 13 PTS, 18 REB, 3 BLK
- Zion Williamson, F, NO: 32 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 14-of-19 FG
- Brandon Ingram, F, NO: 17 PTS, 4 AST, 3 REB, 2 BLK
Donovan Mitchell Spearheads Dominant Jazz Performance
It's no coincidence Utah entered Tuesday's game playing its best basketball of the season. The winning streak coincides directly with Mitchell establishing a rhythm as the team's go-to scorer.
After failing to score more than 23 points in each of his first six games, he scored 26 or more points in five of the next seven and in four of the previous five wins.
The Louisville product wasted no time setting the tone Tuesday, hitting multiple shots from deep and slashing through the defense on his way to 15 first-quarter points. Mitchell was dialed in while aggressively hunting his shot, which has largely been the case during Utah's recent surge.
He also mixed in a head-turning wraparound pass to Bojan Bogdanovic for a triple to give Utah a six-point halftime advantage.
It continued in the second half, as Mitchell found Bogdanovic for another three with a second wraparound pass, hit his own deep three-pointer and put on an offensive clinic as the Jazz built a commanding lead.
It wasn't all Mitchell, as backcourt mate Mike Conley drew in the defense and created open looks for his teammates, Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles provided a spark off the bench, and Rudy Gobert notched a double-double while finishing at the rim and controlling the boards.
Frankly, it was more of the same for a team that could ultimately be a threat to the Los Angeles Lakers, L.A. Clippers and other contenders. It has a star in place in Mitchell, an unselfish point guard in Conley who is always looking to set others up, a frontcourt anchor in Gobert, shooters on the wing and depth on the bench.
Zion's Strong Offensive Performance Goes to Waste
The Pelicans may not make the playoffs, but the future is bright if the start of this season is any indication.
Williamson looks every bit the part of the franchise cornerstone they were looking for when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, especially as of late. He averaged 25.3 points and 8.2 rebounds in New Orleans' first six January games and showed no hesitation going right at Utah's frontcourt Tuesday.
Not even Gobert—who did block one of his attempts at the rim—or Derrick Favors gave him pause in the early going, as the Duke product made his first five shots and powered his way to the basket while putting up 14 points in the first half.
He and Brandon Ingram were the primary reason the Pelicans were still within striking distance following Mitchell's hot start, but the game started to slip away without enough secondary contributions.
No other Pelican scored more than nine outside of those two, and the game was all but over by the fourth quarter.
New Orleans has a star to build around in Williamson, but it didn't have anywhere close to enough difference-makers to keep up with the Jazz on Tuesday.
What's Next?
These two teams play again in Utah on Thursday.
