Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell didn’t expect to throw down a thunderous dunk when he went up for a rebound of his own miss in heavy traffic during the fourth quarter last night.
It was an awesome dunk, and will go down as one of the better plays in this year’s playoffs, if not all time.
“To be honest with you, I was just trying to shoot a floater and grab a rebound, but I just happened to be up there,” Mitchell said after the Utah Jazz evened their Western Conference semifinal series with a 116-108 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 2. “So I figured, why not come down with it?”
The reigning NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion said it was one of the best dunks of his sensational rookie season, considering the stage and circumstances.
“That was my first one really on [national] TV,” Mitchell said. “I had a few like that, but that was pretty cool in the playoffs to be able to do that.”
Mitchell’s awesome dunk came at a critical moment in the game. It pushed the Jazz’s advantage to six points with 6:11 remaining in the game, part of a 16-2 run that gave Utah the lead for good after the Rockets had rallied from a 19-point deficit.
Pretty amazing dunk, and his girlfriend ain’t too shabby either. This guy needs to win Rookie of the Year after last night’s performance.
