It's official—after a roller coaster ride of a season, the Utah Jazz have clinched a spot in the 2018 playoffs thanks to a 112-97 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles Sunday evening.
"This is huge," Donovan Mitchell said after the game. "We had a rough couple of months to start the season, but to bounce back the way we did is incredible."
This is the second straight season that Utah (47-33) has qualified for the playoffs after a four-year hiatus. The Jazz currently sit in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with two games remaining in the regular season.
Mitchell led all scorers with 28 points, while Joe Ingles filled it up with 22 points, four rebounds, 10 assists, one steal and one block.
Derrick Favors doubled-doubled with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and he finished with a game-high net rating of +30 in 33 minutes.
Ricky Rubio (hamstring) returned from a one-game absence but was limited to only 18 minutes. He finished with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Jae Crowder (18 points) and Royce O'Neale (15 points) gave the Jazz a huge lift off the bench.
Rookie Josh Hart scored a team-high 25 points for the Lakers (34-46), while Tyler Ennis (22 points) and Julius Randle (17 points) also scored in double figures in the loss.
Sunday's Best
With Rubio still limited by his sore hamstring, Mitchell took on a larger portion of the team's playmaking duties—and the result was a stellar line of 28 points (his 27th game with 25+ points), nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block in 38 minutes. He shot 3-for-7 from 3-point range, leaving him four triples short of breaking Damian Lillard's single-season rookie record of 185.
Key Stretches
The Jazz came out hot and built a quick 16-4 lead. Ingles sliced into the lane for three layups, Favors hit a jumper and made a layup, and both Rubio and Mitchell knocked down 3-pointers to get Utah going.
The Lakers, though, closed the gap to two in the second quarter and kept the game tight until Ingles went off midway through the third quarter. Utah's senior Aussie scored 11 points in just under four minutes to push Utah's lead back into double digits. Ingles drove baseline and threw down a two-handed dunk, drilled two corner threes, and eased in a breakaway layup, while Rudy Gobert snuck in a two-handed dunk. Mitchell assisted on three of Ingles' buckets (and Gobert's dunk) during that stretch.
The Jazz would push their lead to as many as 22 before settling for a 15-point victory.
Significant Stats
1
After six years of missing out on the postseason as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rubio will now make the first playoff appearance of his career. Rubio is averaging career highs in points (13.1), 3-pointers (1.3), FG% (.416) and usage rate (23.1) in his first season with the Jazz.
35
The Jazz finished with a whopping 35 assists (13 more than their season average). Ingles (10), Mitchell (eight) and Danté Exum (five) led the way, while five other Utah players finished with at least two. Ingles has dished out exactly 10 assists four times this season.
123
The Jazz notched their second straight wire-to-wire victory. The last time they trailed was at the 2:57 mark of the second quarter during Tuesday's game against the Lakers in Salt Lake City—a span of nearly 123 minutes.
Coach's Quote of the Night
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
The Jazz are now 20-20 on the road after starting the season 3-17. ... Utah shot 50.6 percent from the field and 13-for-36 (36.1 percent) from 3-point range. ... Kyle Kuzma (ankle), Lonzo Ball (knee), Brandon Ingram (concussion) and Isaiah Thomas (hip) did not play for the Lakers. ... Utah turned the ball over 18 times, which led to 20 Los Angeles points. ... The Lakers shot only 39.8 percent from the field and 5-for-20 (25.0 percent) from beyond the arc.
Up Next
The Jazz will return home to face the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm MT.
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