SALT LAKE CITY – As expected, the Utah Jazz easily beat the Orlando Magic Saturday in the Vivint Arena.
OK, maybe not quite as expected.
Utah led by as many as 42 in the first half, sank an NBA record of 18 3s in the first half, and Donovan Mitchell was out of the game against the first endurance of the third quarter.
There is blow out, then there is blow out.
The Jazz crushed the listless Magic 137-91 for their ninth consecutive victory. Utah also expanded its best home win series to 22.
So how ugly did things get on Saturday?
Let’s just say that the most memorable plays were the plays that ultimately did not result in points.
Like when Rudy Gobert pumped a three-pointer at the top of the key and bothered the 6,000 fans who made it clear they wanted to set up the All-Star Center.
Or when Joe Ingles was driving with Mitchell on a high street when both were still behind the three-point line. Mitchell managed it, but could not control it enough to lay it down.
Deja vu struck a few possessions later when Ingles tried to find Mitchell again on a deep corridor. This time, Mitchell landed outside his bounds after the foul throw. As he runs back, Mitchell seems to be asking Ingles, “What was that?” while laughing about the play.
There was a lot of smiling and laughing for the Jazz on Saturday.
They led 18 after the first quarter (RJ Hampton of Orlando hit a buzzer at the end of the first – the Magic had it at least) and 42 with a few minutes left in the half.
Utah was 18-out-31 from behind the arc in the first two quarters and set a new NBA record for 3s in the half – a record that came from almost everyone. Mitchell was 6-out-7 from deep in the first half, Ingles was 4-out-6, Jordan Clarkson 3-out-6, Georges Niang 2-out-3 and Bojan Bogdanovic 2-out-4.
It almost seemed like the much more talented Jazz had one of their best shooting nights of the year against a Magic team that played with just eight players, and following the deadline was the subject of several jokes, when they top talent thinking about their future (our favorites: “The Illusion” and “Earvin”).
Jazz coach Quin Snyder did show mercy. While the Jazz were 46:03 left in the third quarter, Snyder pulled most of his entrees for the rest of the game – something the Jazz head coach was reluctant to do, even with great progress.
Mitchell finished with 22 points to lead the Jazz, with Ingles and Bogdnaovic both finishing with 17.
This story will be updated.