Coming into the NBA playoffs, some pundits were worried about the Utah Jazz and whether or not they were good enough to compete with the Denver Nuggets. So far, all of those worries have been for nothing as last night, they took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. As it stands, the Nuggets are in a whole lot of trouble all while the Jazz look like they are getting hot at the exact right time.
Donovan Mitchell has been a huge reason why as last night, he scored a massive 51 points which helped the team cement the win. This was his second 50-point game of the series which ties a record that puts him in elite company. Now, Mitchell is only the third player to score 50 points twice in the same series. He is also the fourth player to score 50 points twice in an entire playoff run. As for the first record, Mitchell joins Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson. With the second, Wilt Chamberlain is thrown into the mix.
Prior to these performances, there were some fans out there who felt like Mitchell wasn't playing his best basketball and that the comparisons to Dwyane Wade were unfounded. However, he has proven the doubters wrong and the Jazz look like a team who could surprise people and maybe even find themselves in the Western Conference Finals.