3 keys in the Utah Jazz’s 141-129 Game 2 win over the Memphis Grizzlies

The Utah Jazz righted the ship on Wednesday night, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 141-129 in Game 2 of the teams’ playoff series at Vivint Arena to even things up at a game apiece.

Here are three takeaways from the contest.

The Jazz offense got going

After Utah shot just 12 of 47 from behind the 3-point line in Game 1, it got back to its usual ways by making 19 of 39 shots from distance. Donovan Mitchell made five of his 10 attempts from deep, and every Jazzman who played save Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell made at least one.

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Mitchell brought life to the Jazz

Having somewhat controversially not played in Game 1, Mitchell made his first appearance for the Jazz since April 16 and immediately came out aggressive. He scored 12 points in the first quarter and finished with 25. As much as the scoring, he brought emotion to the game that Utah needed at various times in the game.

The Jazz neutralized the Grizzlies’ toughness

In Game 1, the Grizzlies stymied the Jazz with incredible toughness thanks mostly to Dillon Brooks, but on Wednesday, Brooks got in foul trouble early, as did center Jonas Valanciunas. With them out of the game, Utah was able to play more freely early on as it built a 20-point lead at halftime. The Grizzlies almost completely erased that lead in the fourth quarter, but the Jazz had enough juice to reclaim the edge and cruise down the stretch.

Fourth quarter, 10:10: Jazz 109, Grizzlies 97

After the Grizzlies mounted a comeback, the Jazz scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to stretch the lead back out a bit. It happened thanks in large part to the play of Rudy Gobert on both ends of the floor.

Third quarter: Jazz 103, Grizzlies 97

The Grizzlies got back to within as few as three in the third quarter after trailing by 20 at halftime before the Jazz stretched the lead to six at the end of the frame. Memphis did it by scoring 43 points in the quarter as Utah could not get stops. On the rare occasions the Grizzlies did miss, they made up for it with offensive rebounds to give themselves life heading into the fourth quarter.

Halftime: Jazz 74, Grizzlies 54

The Jazz continued their hot start as the second quarter began, scoring 10 points less than three minutes through. Although Utah then hit a bit of a lull, it scored nine points over the last two minutes to break the game wide open.

At intermission, the Jazz have made 10 3-pointers, 18 free throws and are winning the rebounding battle by 10 and the assist battle by five. Three Jazz players are in double figures, while Ja Morant is leading all scorers with 22 points but no other Memphis player is in double figures.

End of first quarter: Jazz 36, Grizzlies 27

Paced by Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz came out great in Game 2. Mitchell was incredibly aggressive in his eight minutes on the floor in the first quarter, scoring 12 points. After making just 12 3-pointers in Game 1, the Jazz hit seven in the first quarter alone in Game 2.

After committing 16 turnovers in Game 1, the Jazz gave away three early on Wednesday but none over the final minutes as they gained some separation. The Grizzlies got in foul trouble, as Dillon Brooks and Jonas Valanciunas both picked up two.