Jazz get clutch win in Game 4 over the Mavericks

When everything was on the line, after a monster three from Luka Doncic that put the Utah Jazz down big, Donovan Mitchell came up huge to power the Jazz to a clutch win, 100-99.

The ending was out of a movie. After Doncic put down a monster step-back three, Donovan Mitchell went hard to the rim, missed a shot but would not be denied the offensive rebound, went up and got the and-1. Dwight Powell would then be fouled and miss both free throws in front of a raucous Jazz crowd. Then, down 1, Mitchell made this assist to Rudy Gobert.

There are other heroes in this game that made this happen. One adjustment the Jazz made was having Bojan Bogdanovic guard Jalen Brunson and he did a surprisingly great job. For the game Brunson shot just 38.9% from the field, with 3 assists. He still put up 23 points but it wasn’t the back-breaking type of performance he had put in the last two games. If this is an advantage the Jazz have found, they have to attack it more as the series continues.

The other hero in this game was Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson carried the Jazz in this one for long stretches and played an abnormal 36 minutes, and the Jazz needed him for all of it. Clarkson ended the game a +18 with the next closes Jazz player being Juancho Hernangomez at a +5. Clarkson was magnificent in his time on the floor making shot after shot. He was a masterful 9/16 from the field that included an awesome 3/5 from three. If this is the Clarkson the Jazz have for the rest of the series, they could have a serious advantage going forward.

The series is now tied 2-2 and the Jazz now return to Dallas for Game 5, but this ensures the Jazz have another home game. Shots like this are a big deal and you never know if this is the thing that puts life into this team. When you dissect this game, you’ll notice how many free throws the Jazz missed and all the wrinkles, but this game could be the turning point the Jazz needed to get past the first round, and maybe beyond.