Donovan Mitchell had a big game for the Utah Jazz on Sunday night, and he did not let it get to his head.
Mitchell scored 51 points in Utah’s 129-127 win over the Denver Nuggets to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series between the teams. He shot 15-of-27 including 4-of-7 on threes and 17-of-18 at the free-throw line in the win.
Mitchell scored 57 points in Game 2 of the series and now joins Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as players with multiple 50-point games in the same playoff series. He was informed by Jared Greenberg during his postgame interview about this accomplishment and had a humble response.
“They won; I haven’t done anything yet,” Mitchell said of Jordan and Iverson. “All we did was win Game 4. 50 is 50, but we’re looking to close the series out. I’m honored to be in that category — don’t get me wrong — and I’m very humbled and blessed, but we still have another game left.”
That’s a great attitude. He is not getting caught up in his individual accomplishments and instead is focusing on his team’s goals. Eliminating the No. 3 seed from the playoffs would be a big major accomplishment. It would also set up a potential second-round playoff matchup against either the Clippers or Mavericks.
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