Donovan Mitchell Claims Utah Jazz Defeated Sixers After Wednesday's Loss
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Utah Jazz met for a rematch in South Philly on Wednesday night before closing out the first half of the season. For roughly three-quarters of the game, the Jazz seemed to be in control of the matchup.
But a strong fourth-quarter showing by Joel Embiid and company forced the game to go into overtime, where the Sixers eventually snagged a 131-123 victory. Following the matchup, Jazz star Donovan Mitchell sounded off on the game's referees after he was ejected for two technical fouls in overtime.
"It's tough -- it's tough to go out there to see how we fight and compete, and I'm never one to blame a ref, but this is getting out of hand," Mitchell said on Wednesday night. "There have been games like this that we've won; there have been games like this that we've lost.
"This whole refereeing stuff and the way we're nice, we don't complain, we don't get frustrated, we fight through things. The fact that we continually get screwed in this way -- we won this game, in my personal opinion. Like I said, I'll give them credit. They won whatever, cool."
Mitchell's rant didn't end there. While he specifically focused on Wednesday's game, the All-Star made it clear that he and the entire Jazz roster have been frustrated with referees all season long. And on Wednesday night in Philly, he had enough.
Despite what Mitchell believes, the Jazz did not win Wednesday night's game. While Mitchell's concerns are somewhat warranted as there were a few questionable calls throughout the game, the officiating wasn't perfect for both sides. Unfortunately for Mitchell, he lost his cool on several occasions, which led to his early departure.
The Jazz veteran left the game four and a half minutes into overtime with a total of 33 points. During the final period, Utah scored just five points. Meanwhile, Tobias Harris put up 11 of Philly's 13 points, which helped them seal the deal and head into the All-Star break with a win -- contrary to Mitchell's belief.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
