Mitchell, Jazz Shoot for 2-0 Lead Over LA

Led by 45 points from Donovan Mitchell, Utah (57-21 SU, 45-31-2 ATS) stormed back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Clippers (51-29, 43-35-2) in Game 1. The Jazz opened as 3-point favorites to claim a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The betting lines couldn’t have been much tighter for Game 1, when Utah pushed as a 3-point favorite and the UNDER 221.5 cashed by a half-point. Oddsmakers rolled out a nearly identical point spread and total for Thursday’s rematch.

Los Angeles News & Notes

Needing seven games to edge the Mavericks in Round 1 might have caught up with the Clippers on Tuesday as LA let a 13-point halftime lead slip away. Kawhi Leonard managed just 23 points on 19 shots and was a team-worst minus-12 in his 36 minutes, while Paul George bricked 13 of his 17 field-goal attempts.

Coach Ty Lue spread the minutes around, getting 11 players into the game before it was 14 minutes old, and cited fatigue as the reason Nic Batum saw just 21 minutes of playing time. DeMarcus Cousins even made his first appearance of the postseason, collecting six points and three rebounds in four minutes of action, and Luke Kennard played more minutes (29) in Game 1 than he did in the entire Dallas series (28).

Playing their ninth playoff game in an 18-day span tonight, the Clippers might try to slow things down as much as possible. LA tends to play lower-scoring games following a loss, going UNDER in 11 of its last 14 in that situation. The Clips have also gone UNDER the total in eight of their last 11 on the road.

Utah News & Notes

The Jazz have lived by the three all year, and they didn’t abandon that strategy in Game 1 despite an awful start behind the arc. Utah was 10-for-23 from three-point range in the second half after missing 20 of 27 attempts in the first half, perhaps showing some early rust after not playing for nearly a week. In fact, the Jazz missed 22 of their first 25 shots overall, including 20 straight in the Sportsbook quarter.

Mitchell keyed Utah’s resurgent shooting in the second half, scoring 32 of his 45 points after the intermission. Mitchell is now averaging 28.1 points per game in his young playoff career and has already tied the Jazz franchise postseason record for 40-point games (four), turning the trick in 165 fewer games than it took Karl Malone.

Mitchell should be the main man offensively again for Utah tonight, especially if Mike Conley isn’t able to return from the hamstring injury that sidelined him on Tuesday.

Rudy Gobert and the Utah defense also played their part in Game 1 to help the Jazz rally from a 14-point deficit. Gobert blocked a potential game-tying three at the buzzer as LA missed 14 of its last 19 perimeter attempts, and Utah limited the Clippers to just six field goals in the entire third quarter.

Betting Pick: OVER 221

Both teams struggled badly from the field in Game 1 and still combined to score 221 points.