Mitchell steals Adams’ thunder
THE Utah Jazz battled to a 96-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Salt Lake City to clinch their NBA Western Conference playoffs series 4-2 and end Kiwi centre’s Steven Adams’ NBA dream for another season.
Donovan Mitchell scored 38 points for the Jazz in Game 6 yesterday as they advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.
Russell Westbrook had 46 points for the Thunder and Adams added 19 points and 16 rebounds.
The rookie and the MVP went back and forth in the second half, with Mitchell and the Jazz moving on to face the top-seeded Houston Rockets in a series that starts tomorrow.
Derrick Favors scored 13 points and Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost starting point guard Ricky Rubio to a left hamstring injury in the first quarter.
The Jazz took their biggest lead when Gobert hit two free throws to make it 86-73 with 7:04 remaining.
Westbrook’s three-pointer capped an 18-6 run and drew Oklahoma City to 92-91 with 1:28 to play.
Favors hit a jumper for the Jazz but then the Thunder corralled five offensive rebounds in a frantic set of possessions where Oklahoma City missed five shots. After a review, Paul George faked Gobert into the air behind the three-point line and leaned in AP but didn’t get the call and shot an airball.
Mitchell scampered down the court as the Thunder yelled at the officials and eventually made two free throws with 6.9 seconds left to clinch the game. AP
After struggling to score in the first two periods, the Jazz just gave the ball to Mitchell and set screen after screen to allow him to take advantage of Oklahoma City’s switching defence.
In the third quarter, Mitchell scored 22 points to boost the Jazz into a double-digit lead. The rookie scored on electrifying drives to the basket, spinning shots in the lane and rainbow three-pointers.
The arena, awash in gold as the Jazz wore their yellow jerseys and every fan was given a gold T-shirt, roared as Mitchell held his arms aloft and beckoned for more.
Mitchell picked up his fifth foul with 10:01 to play but returned to finish the game midway through the fourth quarter.
Seven minutes into the game, Rubio began limping and left the game.
Facing a team without a true point guard, the Thunder extended their defence and disrupted Utah’s sets. The Jazz were shooting from unfamiliar spots and connected on just 39 percent in the first half.
Oklahoma City led by as many as nine before the Jazz tied it at 41-all at halftime. - AP
‘‘Steph practised at 100 percent, he did everything, he looked good,’’ Kerr said.
‘‘What we have to do is see how his body responds the rest of the day, put him through another practice tomorrow. I think he needs to string together two good days but it was very positive today.
‘‘I think it’s been coming along pretty well. When we were in San Antonio and I was asked a question about how he was doing, I think I was able to give an answer, ‘He’s doing great but we haven’t ramped him up yet’. I think today was an important day because it’s the first time he’s actually gone live action and he was allowed to go through practice. And he appears fine.’’
Curry went through his usual shooting work with Kevin Durant from various spots after practice, cutting and exhibiting his fancy footwork and dribbling skills. The Warriors have played well without their floor leader, eliminating the San Antonio Spurs in game five of the firstround series with a 99-91 win on Wednesday.
The Pelicans will present a different, faster pace for the Warriors, so getting Curry back to push the ball and direct the offence would be important. - AP