Jazz 116, Cavaliers 114: Four Encouraging Takeaways

The Utah Jazz came out on top in Donovan Mitchell’s first visit back to Salt Lake City.

Jordan Clarkson scored 32 points while Lauri Markkanen chipped in 25 as the Utah Jazz outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-114. In his return to Utah, Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 46 points in a losing cause.

The Jazz were trending to lose another game, despite an 88-84 lead heading into the last period. The Cavaliers started the fourth quarter on a 19-9 run to take a 103-97 lead with 5:21 left to play, but the game flipped when Clarkson scored seven points on one possession to give the Jazz a two-point lead with 1:10 to go.

From there, the Jazz were able to hold off Cleveland with some clutch free-throw shooting to get a much needed win. 

What did we learn? Let’s break down the key takeaways in Mitchell’s first game at Vivint Arena in an opponent's uniform.

Mitchell Gets a Warm Welcome

The social media buzz that Mitchell’s homecoming might not be well received was put to bed when his name was announced in pre-game introductions. The four-time All-Star got a standing ovation from the home crowd along with a video highlighting his career in Salt Lake City. 

Last summer’s departure was a rocky road, but that was trumped by Utah’s five playoff appearances and the community service work that was accomplished in his tenure with the Jazz. Mitchell talked about the experience in his post game interview.

“I was really comfortable,” Mitchell said. “It wasn’t weird. It was just like playing as I have here for the last five years. The reception was phenomenal and I’m appreciative of it.”

Hardy Gets Starting Lineup Right

Head coach Will Hardy has gotten a lot of criticism for his rotation decisions here at The Frozen Rope, but he got it right on Tuesday night. Inserting Walker Kessler in the starting lineup gives Utah much needed rim protection and paint presence to a team that ranks last in the league in points allowed in the paint. 

Also, replacing Jarred Vanderbilt with Malik Beasley helps with the spacing on the offensive end. This is only the seventh game of the year that Kessler has played at least 25 minutes, but the Jazz are currently 5-2 in those contests. Jazz fans should keep an eye on Kessler’s minutes moving forward.

Alexander-Walker Needs to Play Every Night

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is another player that deserves minutes every night. When you look at the guards up and down Utah’s roster, he’s its best perimeter defender and it’s not even close. 

'NAW' is averaging 6.9 ppg on 49% shooting from the field despite only 15 minutes of court time a game. Hardy handing out 14 DNPs to ‘NAW’ this year is coaching malpractice. However, the first-year coach got it right against Cleveland and was rewarded with a 13-point performance on 5-for-10 shooting.

The Clarkson Show

All eyes were on Mitchell’s homecoming, but it was Clarkson who came out on top at the end. Clarkson finished the game with five three-pointers including 15 fourth-quarter points. However, it was the seven-point possession everyone was talking about after the game. 

The jury is still out on whether Utah’s second leading scorer will be around next year, but what we do know is that Clarkson's price tag keeps getting higher as the season moves forward.

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