NBA playoffs 2018: Donovan Mitchell says Game 3 vs. Rockets would've been better without him - Sporting News

Rookie Donovan Mitchell quickly emerged as one of the stars of this year's NBA playoffs, leading the Jazz to the conference semifinals, but that certainly wasn't the case in Game 3. 

The Jazz fell to the Rockets 113-92 as Mitchell scored a playoff-low 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. He had three assists but also made three turnovers. 

Mitchell addressed his lackluster performance after the game, saying, "It's like I would have been better off not showing up." 

"I didn't really do much as a whole, like I wasn't there. That can't happen. That will probably be what I take away the most," Mitchell said (via ESPN). "I didn't show up at all for my teammates. I'll fix it."

The irony of Mitchell's night was the fact that just hours before he defended a poor performance by 76ers rookie Ben Simmons in Philadelphia's Game 2 loss to the Celtics. Simmons scored one point, and Mitchell toward reporters, "It happens to everybody."

The Jazz are down 2-1, but they have a chance to even the series in Game 4 on Saturday.

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