Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) loses the ball between Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis (11) and guard Malcolm Brogdon (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. The Pacers won 121-102. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indianapolis • On the last day of 2016, Donovan Mitchell had one of his best collegiate games in Bankers Life Fieldhouse against the Indiana Hoosiers, scoring 33 points coming off the bench in a win for the Louisville Cardinals, whose campus is just under two hours away.
Mitchell is in a very different place now: he’s an NBA star, leading the talented Utah Jazz. But on this night in 2019, he couldn’t find his shot consistently, and the Jazz lost to the Indiana Pacers, 121-102.
The third-year guard ended with 26 points, but he wasn’t always efficient in getting there.
He got off to a rough start; relatedly, the Jazz faced a 53-43 deficit at the half. Feeling the Jazz’s need for scoring, he attacked aggressively in the second half to some success, but it never was enough for the Jazz’s comeback attempt.
Of course, it was also Bojan Bogdanovic’s return to Indianapolis, where he first had the chance to serve as an NBA No. 1 option last season. He led the Jazz in scoring, keeping them within striking distance multiple times as his teammates struggled. In the end, he finished with 30 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
At one point, Bogdanovic led the Jazz to within three in the third quarter thanks to a run of hot shooting — he scored 14 of those 30 points in the third. But his three to get them there turned out to be his last field goal attempt of the game, though he did get to the line a couple of times. Indiana responded with an immediate run, and took a nine-point lead in the third quarter.
“They felt comfortable the entire time,” Mitchell said.
Rudy Gobert returned for the Jazz after missing two games due to a left ankle sprain. In his first game back, he added 14 points and 13 rebounds, but never got into a rhythm on the defensive end.
“They really hurt us in the paint," Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. We just lacked communication on a lot of the pick and rolls, we knew how physical of a team they were. We need to be better. I thought that they were the more aggressive team, and that showed in the way they attacked the basket.”
Gobert, meanwhile, felt that the defensive problems were due to the team’s turnovers. “As a defensive-minded team, when you give the ball to the opponent and allow them to get easy baskets, you really put your defense in a tough position.” The Jazz did have 16 turnovers, which led to 22 Indiana points.
And that lack of stops meant that the Jazz, though they fought, never overcame Indiana’s early lead. The Jazz’s perimeter defense seemed to lack their usual focus, as the Pacers hit open shot after open shot throughout the second half. The middle of the fourth quarter was when the game was put away for good; the Pacers went on a 23-9 run to settle it.
The Pacers’ scoring was led by T.J. Warren and Domantas Sabonis’ matching 23-point performances; new addition Malcolm Brogdon had 22 from the point guard spot.
After a 10-game stretch in which it looked like he had found his shot again, Mike Conley struggled for the second consecutive game, shooting just 2 for 8 for five points.
The good news: This five-game road trip makes its easiest stop on Friday against the 5-12 Memphis Grizzlies, a chance to stop the bleeding before heading back north for a back-to-back against the Raptors and Sixers in Toronto and Philadelphia on Sunday and Monday.
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