It was virtual dog fight in Salt Lake City on Friday night, but in the end, the Utah Jazz emerged victorious and eliminated the Thunder in Game 6 with a 96-91 win behind a virtuoso performance from rookie Donovan Mitchell, who dropped 38 points, including 5-of-8 from downtown.
It was a wild finish in the waning moments of the game with the Thunder down three, as OKC got a total of five offensive rebounds on what would be the final play but were unable to take advantage of it. On what would be their final opportunity, Paul George tried to earn a chance to tie it up at the line after attempting to draw a foul in the act of shooting, but it was ultimately a no-call.
Paul George doesn't get the foul call on the 3. pic.twitter.com/nB6le4SJ4J
— RealGM (@RealGM) April 28, 2018
After a gritty 25-point comeback to win Game 5 and stave off elimination, the Thunder had plenty of confidence going into Game 6 in Utah. And things started to look bleak for the Jazz when Ricky Rubio went down with a hamstring injury early in the first half and did not return.
But then Mitchell took over in the second half, going head-to-head with Russell Westbrook in a third quarter for the ages as each put his respective team on his back. Mitchell scored 22 points in the third and did it in every conceivable way, making circus shots in the lane and draining threes in his defenders’ grills.
Donovan Mitchell with 38 points in an elimination game. We're watching the start of a superstar career. (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/ZLNhAlqTE1
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 28, 2018
Westbrook nearly matched Mitchell with 20 points of his own in the quarter, but mostly out of necessity as he got little-to-no help from his supporting cast. Russ finished with 46 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists and took an astounding 43 field goal attempts in the process. Steven Adams was the only other Thunder player in double digits with 19 points, to go along with 15 rebounds.
Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were mostly MIA, with George scoring just five points on brutal 2-of-16 shooting, while Melo added just seven points and was a game-worst minus-19 for the night.
The Jazz will now move on to face the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals, which begins Sunday at 3:30 E.T. on ABC.
