SALT LAKE CITY – Donovan Mitchell had a pretty good idea of Quin Snyder’s plan for Team LeBron in the All-Star Game.
“I think he took what we did during the season to the point where he shot three and just told them to shoot further, harder shots,” Mitchell said.
If you have Steph Curry and Damian Lillard on your team, you can make the most of it. Snyder led his team to a 170-150 victory over Mitchell and Team Durant in Atlanta on Sunday. And yes, it was one of those farther and more difficult threes that ended the game with Lillard moving just inside the half-lane line and drilling a triple to take Team LeBron to the goal score of 170.
But Snyder isn’t about to take credit for everything that happened on Sunday.
“(I coached) as much as they wanted, that was playing a few times in a few situations,” said Snyder. “A little help in every way, but I think they pretty much got it covered.”
He was only part of the ride. He said it was exciting to just be at the game; to look out on the field and see not only All-Stars, but also the former Hall of Famers. It only added to the tension that three of his players were there too.
Jazz was well represented in Atlanta. Mitchell, who played for Team Durant, had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes; Rudy Gobert had 10 points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes for Team LeBron; and Mike Conley, who made his highly anticipated All-Star debut, had 3 points and two assists in 12 minutes for Team Durant.
The jazz players didn’t play a big part in the final outcome, but they had a lot of fun moments, including a debut that Conley never saw coming.
At Conley’s very first game in an All-Star Game, he did something he hadn’t done for years: he went up against Chris Paul for the opening spot to start the second quarter. Unfortunately for Conley, he lost the show jumping competition, but that was actually the only negative part of the whirlwind day.
“I wasn’t prepared for the tip,” Conley said with a chuckle. “I was told to go out and get ready to guard someone and I look back (and the sofa said), ‘Mike, go jump.’ I wish I had won the tip, but beyond that it was a great experience – great fun. ”
| 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐏𝐄!#NBAAllStar X #Take notepic.twitter.com/LBvkn2M5FF
– utahjazz (@utahjazz) March 8, 2021
In the first half Mitchell leaked in for a lay-up right next to Gobert. The two-time defensive player of the year could have knocked it out, but he thought he’d given his usual teammate a free.
“He had to block my lay-up – I thought he would, I didn’t have the legs to try,” Mitchell said.
Gobert said, “I let him get the first lay-up. Then I told him I wouldn’t let him get it again. He got a little scared in the second half. I thought he was going to try something, but he didn’t. . ” t – smart decision. “
Mitchell did not return the favor to give his teammate a free pass. When Gobert got the ball right next to the hoop, Mitchell Beer hugged him to avoid what would have certainly been a dunk.
“All fun talking talk – I had to cheat him, I had to make sure he didn’t come up there,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell did hit a 3 over Gobert’s long arms in the second half – not as exciting as a challenge on the edge, but also easier (and safer).
There was a bit of drama with Conley. He was the last All-Star to come on the board on Sunday and waited until late in the third quarter to score his first points. Mitchell said he and the team had been trying to find ways to get him a bucket and so there was some relief when Conley took down a 3-pointer in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
And that shot was all Conley needed.
“Once I got the bucket, I thought, ‘I’m fine, man, you can get me out. Let these young guys run around and put on a show.’” Said Conley.
All in all, it was a successful competition and weekend for the Jazz, who was the most represented team at the competition. Utah was one of only two teams to have three All-Stars (the Brooklyn Nets were the other), and were the only team to play all three. And they brought their coach. All of this made for a special day for the organization.
“It was fun being there with those guys,” Snyder said.