Cavs Guard Donovan Mitchell Cooks During Opening Quarter Against Jazz
Dec 19, 2022, 5:49 PM
Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on October 05, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Former Jazzman and current Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell caught fire during the opening minutes of his first game against the Utah Jazz.
The Cavaliers hosted the Jazz at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday, December 19.
Mitchell only played half of the opening quarter but made an instant impact for his current squad against his old team.
At the end of the opening quarter, the Jazz trailed the Cavaliers, 29-21.
Mitchell had a game-high 11 points on 4-6 shooting, including 3-4 on three-pointers. He added one rebound and one assist in six minutes of action.
That’s what you call a SPIDA BITE. 🕷️@spidadmitchell | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/201OFICWKr
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 20, 2022
This season, the five-year Jazzman is averaging 29.5 points per game with the Cavs, good for eighth in the NBA. He also records 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 0.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals in 36.9 minutes per contest.
The Cavaliers entered the game with a 20-11 record. Utah arrived in Ohio with a 17-15 record.
save it for the game 😜 pic.twitter.com/LYX2bWlGtE
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 19, 2022
Utah’s game against Cleveland is broadcast on AT&T SportsNet, NBA League Pass, and KSL Sports Zone.
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The Jazz lacked energy throughout the night and nowhere was it more apparent than on the glass.
Milwaukee won the rebounding battle 54-29 as no Jazz player secured more than Jarred Vanderbilt’s six.
Bobby Portis grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Milwaukee who also outrebounded the Jazz 15-7 on the offensive glass.
LISTEN LIVE: The @utahjazz continue their road trip with a stop in Cleveland to face @spidadmitchell and the @cavs on https://t.co/4kU961CZ7h and the @KSLSportsZone.#TakeNote https://t.co/l9NMjVqX19 pic.twitter.com/4V5eaP37d6
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 20, 2022
“We have a very small margin for error in that area,” Will Hardy said after the game. “So you can have three players go to the glass and when two guys on a given possession are not locked in and don’t go, we get hurt because the other team does have more size than we do.”
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The Jazz are the league’s 13th-best rebounding team overall, but that’s deceptive as they are the fifth-leading offensive rebounding team and the worst defensive rebounding team.
On the flip side, the Bucks are the league’s best defensive-rebounding team, which showed in the lopsided loss.
Utah’s game against Cleveland marks the Jazz’s first meeting with Mitchell since the superstar guard was traded in September.
Before the game, the Cavaliers honored a few of their former players, who now play for the Jazz, with videos posted to social media before a game between the two NBA franchises.
The @cavs welcomed back some familiar faces on Monday night. #TakeNote #UTAvsCLE #LetEmKnow https://t.co/QYllrtvTPz
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 20, 2022
“Welcome back, Bull!” the Cavs tweeted alongside a short video of Collin Sexton highlights.
Sexton was drafted by Cleveland and played for the Cavaliers from 2018-22.
The Cavaliers also honored Lauri Markkanen, The Finnish forward played in Cleveland last season after he was traded from the Chicago Bulls.
Cleveland also gave a shoutout to Jazz rookie Ochai Agbaji. The Kansas product was was selected by the Cavs with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The three former Cavaliers were traded to the Jazz in September as part of a trade centered on three-time NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
