Recap: Utah Jazz 68 Boston Celtics 65

The Boston Celtics faced off against the Utah Jazz in an awkward first meeting of these teams since the Gordon Hayward trade. There was an odd tension in the arena with many Jazz fans showing up to show their frustrations.

Dante Exum continues his impressive summer league play with strong defense and leading the team in scoring when he’s on the floor.

The matchup to watch though was Donovan Mitchell vs Jayson Tatum. The smaller sized Donovan Mitchell D’d up Tatum and played some tough defense on him and frustrated him on a number of possessions.

The Celtics had the lead by halftime 34-29 with Rosco Allen hitting a 3 just before halftime.

After halftime, it was the Donovan Mitchell show. During the halftime break, Donovan Mitchell made sure it was. He asked to guard Jayson Tatum. He took the assignment and put on a show.

Donovan Mitchell looks like a guy who was selected in the top 3. His defense is already elite and he is playmaking is way better than anyone anticipated.

But the game was still in reach for Boston in the final seconds and that’s when Dante Exum took over to put it away.

Once again, Eric Griffin was a pleasant surprise posting 8 points and 6 rebounds. I would wager the Utah Jazz are going to keep an eye on him and work to get him onto the training camp roster. He seems like a great fit for the new two way G-League contracts.

The Utah Jazz summer league team have one day off before playing in Las Vegas against the Portland Trailblazers summer league team. This time, however, Utah will be without Dante Exum. One might wonder whether Donovan Mitchell and his impressive play might have earned his way out of summer league play as well. If not, we’ll be treated to the Donovan Mitchell show in Las Vegas. If you ask me, that’s the hottest ticket in town.