Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell made the game-winning shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, but he had praise for the man who guarded him on that possession and for most of the game, Lu Dort.
Mitchell struggled to get going, missing his first six shots and going scoreless over the first 19 minutes of the game. He only had eight points entering the fourth quarter.
He finally went off, finishing with 20 points, but only shot 8-for-23 from the field and 2-for-10 from 3.
“Give him his credit, man,” Mitchell said, according to KSL Sports. “He’s a hell of a defender.”
He went on to say that late in the game, he figured out different ways he could find his shot, including backdoor cuts and using more screens, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones.
Donovan Mitchell said he stayed the course against Lou Dort. Realized as the game went on some counters he could enact. One was the backdoor cut late in the game. Two was using more screens, trusting his shot. Mitchell said Dort is a hell of a defender
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) December 29, 2020
Head coach Quinn Snyder also complimented Dort’s defense, according to KSL Sports.
“Lu Dort is one of the best on-ball defenders in the league,” Snyder said. “We saw that last year in the playoffs.”
It wasn’t just Dort’s defense that was on — he scored 26 points, a regular-season career-high. He shot 9-for-11 from the field and made five of his seven 3-pointers.
It was an all-around superb game for the second-year player.
Social media had reactions throughout the game.
Lu Dort’s defense is just an absolute pleasure to watch. within about five minutes, anybody he guards looks like they want to complain to a manager.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 29, 2020
71% of the Earth is water, rest is being covered by Lu Dort
— Jamezinho (@Jamezinh0) December 29, 2020
Live look at Lu Dort defense tonight. #UTAvsOKC pic.twitter.com/8jAIzR8WNO
— At The Buzzer (@somesportstuff1) December 29, 2020
Lu Dort is built like a semi truck made of other, smaller semi trucks
— David Brandon (@birdrightsnba) December 29, 2020
YOU CANNOT GIVE ELITE PLAYERS LIKE ✨LU DORT ✨ THAT MUCH SPACE AND TIME.
— Oklahoma City Thunder Digest © (@ThunderDigest) December 29, 2020
Lu Dort stares Donovan Mitchell dead in the eye and cans the 3. Mans is feeling himself. #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/0PLZ3OEoNm
— 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙃𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙨 (@BoomtownHoops) December 29, 2020
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