“Donovan Mitchell single-handedly said ‘We’re not losing tonight'”: Charles Barkley has rave reviews for Jazz All-Star after his 45 points in Game 1 vs Clippers

Charles Barkley heaps massive praise onto Donovan Mitchell after a stellar 45 point showing against the Clippers in game-1. 

After a stunning 7 game series against the Mavericks, the Clippers now face the Donovan Mitchell-led Jazz in round-2. Given the ability of both these teams, many expected game-1 to be incredibly close. And boy, were they right.

LA came out and dominated the first half completely. By halftime, they were already sitting on 60 points, while their opponents had 47 points at the time. Then in the second half, the Jazz kicked thin up a notch, with Donovan Mitchell leading the team to a 112-109 victory.

It was a game where the fatigue of the Clippers and the rust of Utah showed just a tad bit. But overall, it was a very encouraging outing for both teams in this series.

Charles Barkley in particular was impressed by what he saw. And while he liked what he saw from the Clipps, the former player believed that one man, in particular, was responsible for their loss.

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Charles Barkley highlights the brilliance of Donovan Mitchell in game-1

As we said, the Utah Jazz stepped it up a notch in the second half. And the one who caused this uptake in intensity was Donovan Mitchell, who quite simply went nuclear during this game.

The 24-year-old dropped 45 points on the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, doing it on 53.3% from the field, and 40% from beyond the arc. To put these numbers into context, the rest of the team shot just 34% from the field during this game.

To add to this, the player also had 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, truly producing on both ends of the floor.

After the game, the Inside Crew chose to analyze what they had just witnessed from its participants. And, Charles Barkley was firm on his opinion on why the Jazz took this game. Here is what he said.

“What you saw tonight, was a star saying ‘we not gonna lose tonight’. When that third quarter started, Donovan Mitchell said ‘I’m gonna shoot this thing every time. Either I’ll shoot the three, or I’m going to the basket.’ He singlehandedly says ‘We’re not going to lose tonight!’, then the other guys chipped in.”

Frankly, after watching the game, it is difficult to refuse the Chuckster’s point.

The Jazz were clearly struggling throughout this game. But when Mitchell took over and started dominating the Clippers, only then did the team start to play better.

Donovan Mitchell is clearly one of the biggest superstars in the league right now. And we’re almost certain Shaq is starting to regret what said to the star’s face just a few short months ago.

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