Donovan Mitchell Drops 31 on Houston to Avoid Sweep

Donovan Mitchell helped extend Utah’s season by at least another game Monday night, scoring 19 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter of a 107-91 win against the Rockets.

Mitchell’s performance ensured the Jazz would not be swept, forcing a Game 5 on Wednesday.

James Harden had 30 points and Chris Paul added 18 points and 11 assists for Houston in the loss.

Per The AP:

“My teammates have had my back with every mistake, everything I’ve done well,” Mitchell said. “When you have that support system in the locker room every day, it makes it easier when you start the game with two straight turnovers.”

Jae Crowder scored 23 points. Ricky Rubio chipped in 18 points and 11 assists and Derrick Favors finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“Of course, we wanted to end it tonight,” Harden said. “We had plenty of opportunities. They made some plays in that fourth quarter and we didn’t.”

Mitchell scored 13 points in three minutes to fuel the run after totaling just 12 points in the first three quarters. He capped off the surge with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Jazz a 91-80 lead with 9:02 remaining.

“We’ve had our backs against the wall plenty of times the past two years we’ve been together as a team,” Mitchell said. “This is familiar ground with us. Everybody responded the way we expect them to, but the biggest thing for us is take what we did today and multiply it.”