Donovan Mitchell helps Jazz beat Nuggets, tie series at 1

Donovan Mitchell scored 21 of his 30 points in a big third quarter and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 124-105 on Wednesday to even the first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

Mitchell was 10 of 14 from the floor. He helped the Jazz break open the game in the third quarter and increase the lead to 31 in the fourth.

His performance was on the heels of scoring a Jazz playoff-record 57 points in a 135-125 overtime loss in Game 1. Mitchell was the focus of Denver’s defense, which helped open up other avenues for teammates.

Jordan Clarkson scored a personal playoff-best 26 points on a day the Jazz shot 51.7% from the floor. They also had 32 assists and hit 20 3-pointers.

Game 3 is Friday.

Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. had 28 points, and Nikola Jokic added 28 points and 11 rebounds.

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Fred VanVleet had 24 points and 10 assists, Norman Powell had a big game off the bench with 24 points and defending NBA champion Toronto beat Brooklyn to take a 2-0 series lead.

Kyle Lowry had 21 points, nine rebounds and forced a big turnover in the closing seconds for the second seeded Raptors. Garrett Temple led the Nets with 21 points, and Caris LeVert had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Image credits: AP