Utah’s Donovan Mitchell suffered a right ankle injury at the end of the first half vs. Sacramento on Tuesday.
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell did not play Thursday night against the Atlanta Hawks because of a sprained right ankle.
Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points and the Jazz blew away the Hawks in the fourth quarter for a 116-98 victory to improve to an NBA-best 7-1.
“Everybody just coming up to me and saying, ‘J.C., keep shooting, keep shooting. It’s gonna happen,’” Clarkson said. “That’s why I love this team. I love my teammates, I love the coaching staff, I love this organization. They believe in me and believe in what I can do. It’s beautiful.”
Game Recap: Jazz 116, Hawks 98
Mitchell injured the ankle in closing seconds of the first half Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings. He returned in the second half and finished with a season-high 36 points in a 119-113 victory.
Mitchell insisted the injury wasn’t serious or related to a severe ankle sprain last season that caused him to miss the final 16 games of the regular season and the playoff opener.
UPDATED injury report:
*OUT – Donovan Mitchell (right ankle sprain)
*AVAILABLE – Jared Butler (non-COVID related illness)
*AVAILABLE – Royce O’Neale (right ankle sprain)
*AVAILABLE – Hassan Whiteside (left ankle sprain)
OUT – Rudy Gay (right heel injury recovery)
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 4, 2021
But the Jazz were taking no chances, deciding to sit Mitchell in Atlanta as they started a three-game road trip.
“We’re conservative and diligent about those types of things,” coach Quin Snyder said. “I think Donovan is in a good place mentally, and we will make sure that he’s in a good place physically and he’ll be back.”
Joe Ingles, who started in place of Mitchell at guard, finished with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting and also had four rebounds and three assists.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
