Donovan Mitchell comes up big as Utah Jazz win opener; 3 takeaways
By Dean Hasan
The Utah Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-95 at home Wednesday night in their first game of the season. Here are 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener.
The Utah Jazz won their first game of the season behind Donovan Mitchell‘s impressive 32-point, 12-rebound, three-assist performance in a comeback, fourth-quarter victory. Coming into the final period, Utah trailed 74-68, before outscoring the Thunder 32-21 to complete their 100-95 triumph.
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In addition to Mitchell’s elite showing, the main stories of the game for the Jazz were Bojan Bogdanovic‘s ankle injury and Mike Conley‘s awful shooting night. In the second quarter, Bogdanovic went back into the locker room to nurse his injury, however, he returned in the second half and his 16 points on the night were certainly a major boost for Utah’s offense.
Bogdanovic struggled a bit from deep, making just one of his five attempts, however his struggles were nothing compared to Conley’s performance from the field.
Conley’s sole bucket came at the end of the third quarter, an eight-foot jumper to bring the Jazz within four with 5.9 left in the period. Overall, Conley shot 1-of-16 from the field, including a disappointing 0-for-6 from deep. On a positive note, he recorded five dimes and sank a couple key free throws at the end of the game.
The Jazz have room to celebrate Wednesday night’s victory. However, they also have some areas that need improvement. Here are three takeaways from last night’s season opener.