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Mitchell received power from Wade, Ambide replied to Yukic: the inspiration for tonight's big shows
The Utah star played sick against the Clippers and got a shot of encouragement from the mentor, the Philadelphia center wanted to convey a message after not winning the MVP, and also: Ty Lou's failed exercise against Rudy Gober and the Sixers' X Factor.
Summary of the night in the playoffs
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Donovan Mitchell
Joel Ambide
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Wednesday, 09 June 2021, 09:19
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"An amazing actor, an amazing person."
Bogdanovich praises Mitchell (Photo: AP, Rick Bowmer)
Even after a string of big plays in the playoffs, even after leading Utah to the Western presidency in the regular season, it seems like Donovan Mitchell is still not getting real star treatment in the NBA. The series against the Clippers, in which he faces some of the league's big stars, may change that, and tonight (Tuesday-Wednesday) it was the first step.
With 45 points, 32 of them in the second half, Mitchell swept Utah to a 109-112 victory over Kwai Leonard, Paul George and the Clippers in the first game of the Western Conference semifinal series, proving once again that he is winking at special material. The Clippers started the game better, the regular offense that characterized the Jazz throughout the season was gone, but in the halftime break, with Utah 13 points behind, Mitchell knew it was time to pick up gear, and did so like a true winner.
"He's just amazing. An amazing player, an amazing person," Boyan Bogdanovich praised the hero of the victory.
"We were at minus 13 at the half, so he realized he had to take the game on himself. He gave the crowd all the energies back, he gave the players all the energies back. He came out of the locker room just awesome."
Bogdanovich said that "it's just amazing to see how much he has matured and improved this season. He started reading the game a lot more, and knows when to take the game on himself on offense."
More on Walla!
Mitchell scored 45 in Utah's win over the Clippers, Ambide excelled with 40 in Philadelphia's win
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The numbers illustrate how much Mitchell rises in the playoffs, and how explosive he is: This was the third time in a playoff game that he has scored 30 points or more in one half, equaling the record of this category in the last 25 years, Alan Iverson; He reached 40 points or more in a playoff game for the fourth time in his career, equaling the all-time jazz record that belonged to Carl Malone (Malone reached that in 149 playoff appearances, Mitchell has only 28); He already has three playoff games under his belt with 45 points or more, with all other Utah players having two of those together;
And this time, Mitchell was also aided by mental and professional guidance from brilliant basketball minds: on the floor sat Dwayne Wade, his mentor and role model, now one of Jazz's shareholders. Wade was seen handing out tips to Mitchell during the game, and the Utah star applied. "He commented to me on all sorts of little things he saw during the game, which is great because he knows I admire him, respect him, feel close to him, and in some ways think and play a basketball game like him. When sitting on the floor someone you can call a brother, someone who has become "To part of the organization and trying to help me get better, with such a history in the league, with such experience, it's tremendous. Not many players get such help, certainly not in real time in a playoff game."
Kevin Snyder also appears to be spurring Mitchell on one of the timeouts in the third quarter, explaining to him that "you'll fix your head, and we'll get over everything."
This brief motivational conversation also helped Mitchell reset, although according to the coach, he came up to play when he felt unwell and nauseous.
"What I like about Donovan is the unique communication he has with him. If I feel I can help him with something, I do it. It works the other way around too - he helps me with a lot of things too."
Received live tips from the mentor.
Mitchell with Dwayne Wade (Photo: AP, Rick Bowmer)
Snyder added that "Donovan is a super competitive player, a super determined. He did not feel well today, went up to play sick, his head was a bit drilled, but he was not willing to accept it in any way. There is nothing that can happen that can distract him from the goal."
The Jazz’s victory was also achieved thanks to a supreme defensive move by Rudy Gober, who blocked Marcus Morris during the final, where the Clippers could have forced overtime. The chin said at the end that "I knew they were going to give the ball to Morris, so I 'faked' the help in the other direction a bit. When the ball got to him, I tried to challenge him as much as possible with a shot, without committing an offense."
Gover is unperturbed by the Clippers' attempts to field the small-ball lineups that are supposed to challenge him, so to speak. Even during the final part of the game, Tyrone Lou refrained from taking a time-out, and ordered the Clippers to give the ball to Marcus Morris, because he believed that in front of the taller and slower Gober, it was supposedly Miss Match. That prediction exploded inside him. "The numbers prove I feel comfortable with all types of players," Gover said.
On the other hand, the Clippers realize that the fatigue in the second half gave its signals, two days after the seventh game in the long and exhausting series against Dallas and Luka Doncic. Kwai Leonard is not comforted by this and says that "with how we got to the third quarter, there are no excuses. We did not get the right energies, and they played tough. It is a playoff, and in the playoffs you have to be ready at every moment to do everything to win," he said.
Paul George complimented Donovan Mitchell and said, "He's super aggressive, he keeps attacking you all the time. He has a strong body, and he knows how to use it. He shows tremendous progress when it comes to taking the team on his back in tough moments, and just being a leader." .
A winning move.
Increasing and blocking (Photo: AP, Rick Bowmer)
And while Mitchell was inspired by Dwayne Wade, in the second game of the night, Joel Ambide actually got a boost from Nikola Jukic. Shortly after the announcement of the Denver Center's coronation as the regular season MVP, the Philadelphia star came in second, with a special desire to prove himself. It ended with a career-high 40 points in the playoffs, with 13 rebounds and a 102-118 victory for the Sixers that set up a 1-1 draw in the series against Atlanta.
"It's disappointing, I admit," Ambide said when asked about not winning the Outstanding Player of the Season award, although he has repeatedly stated that he believes he deserves the title. "As an athlete, you dedicate everything you have to winning titles like that. Unfortunately, it was not under his control. There is nothing that can be done about it at the moment. I am just trying to get to every season and every game as prepared as possible."
Doc Rivers also referred to the MVP race, which was decided in favor of Jukic in part because he played in all 72 games, saying that "for me, Joel and Nicola had equal chances. There are a lot of great players in the NBA, but I think what was decisive here was "The number of games Yukic has played. It definitely played a role. I obviously hoped Joel would win, but you can't take anything from Yukic."
Who did you call a lieutenant?
Ambide (Photo: AP, Matt Slocum)
The X Factor.
Shake Milton (Photo: AP, Matt Slocum)
Ambide also spurred the man who became the secondary hero of the victory, Shake Milton.
The guard scored 14 points including a crucial basket that closed out interest, and received a big hug from the star in the final whistle.
"For some reason, I knew it was going to be his night. I knew we would need him tonight," Ambid said, adding that he had prepared Milton ahead of time.
"It just proves how different the playoffs are from anything else," Tobias Harris added, "you never know who will suddenly rise."
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