Donovan Mitchell returns from 8-game absence to lead Jazz past short-handed Nets

The Utah Jazz (32-21) defeated the Brooklyn Nets (29-23) on Friday at Vivint Smart Home Arena as Donovan Mitchell returned from an eight-game absence to score 27 points in 22 minutes.

Jazz got the first basket of the night and never lost the lead after that. Nets did not even manage to tie the game on a single occassion, with the Jazz lead growing to as much as 34 points in the third quarter.

Kyrie Irving scores 6 points in first half

Kyrie Irving scored 15 points in 31 minutes on 6-of-20 shooting from the field - only six in the first half - with James Harden sidelined due to left hamstring tightness. Harden is currently rumored to not be happy with the situation in Brooklyn, and a Ben Simmons swap with the Philadelphia 76ers seems like a possibility.

In his absence, Cameron Thomas scored a game-high 30 points in 31 minutes, DeAndre' Bembry got 13, Patty Mills was only able to add 11 like bench player Day'Ron Sharpe. In fact, the Nets' second unit outscored its starters with 74 collective points off the bench.

Six Jazz players with double-figures in scoring

Utah was without Rudy Gobert (calf), but still managed to get six players in double-digits. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19, Eric Paschall and Hassan Whiteside got a respective 16 and 15 points off the bench, Mike Conley Jr. added 14, and Udoka Azubuike with 10.

Bogdanovic and Azubuike each grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, while Trent Forrest dished out more dimes than anyone else on the floor with seven assists in 28 minutes off the bench. Jazz will now host the New York Knicks on Monday while Nets visit the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

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