Clippers - 118, Jazz - 104
Q. Did you, given your struggles in the first half, offensively especially in the first quarter, did you guys find anything in that second half offensively? And is that something that you can carry over to Game 5? If the answer is yes, how much was that you guys, and how much was that the Clippers?
DONOVAN MITCHELL: I think we did find something. We found a few things. We started to introduce a few things, so we're kind of getting used to it. And they were at a different level. Couldn't buy a bucket. And sometimes that's the case but we've got to continue to guard throughout.
So, for us, coming in in the second half and understanding what we gotta do and how we did it. And I think we found a few things that will give us an advantage and get us to where we go. And we started being aggressive and started shooting as a whole. That's why we cut it to 10 or 12 or whatever.
If we can continue to do that, the way we played in the second half in the first, come out in Game 5 and be ready, I think we'll be in good shape. But we've also got to guard, too.
Q. Along those lines, you said after Game 3 they threw something different at you and that was the difficulty to start the game. You had difficulties again to start this game. Did they throw anything different or was it just the same thing and you just couldn't stop it?
DONOVAN MITCHELL: It was the same thing. We pan -- I wouldn't say panic -- turnovers, I had one, careless ones where we're not thinking. Because we've been thinking and doing our thing. We knew it was coming. We knew how they were going to do it. But I think we shot ourselves in the foot a few times with the turnovers. And that's really what kind of played into their -- now they're playing in transition as opposed to playing half court and guys get into rhythm.
For us, we saw the same thing we saw in Game 3. We understood it. We got the spacing right. We got everything right in the second half. But now we've got to go out there and defend. When you allow a team to get out in transition, get going early, it's tough to come back after that. But we fought and competed and we're looking at film and getting ready for Game 5.
Q. The Clippers have 18-1 advantage in second-chance points, 12-0 in fast-break points. What can you guys do to generate some easier buckets at this point and to keep them off the glass, because seems like those have been kind of consistent themes throughout the series?
DONOVAN MITCHELL: Well, we've got to get -- it's tough, they get those long rebounds. And when we started the game, Kawhi started off with second-chance 3. And he sees the ball go, he's an elite scorer, stuff like that gets guys going, gets guys and their teams going.
And all the way down to Zubac at the end getting a tip-out. We have to go out there and execute in that sense. I think that's the biggest thing for us. We haven't done that yet. We've gotten two wins -- even though we haven't necessarily done it but we can be better at it, we know that. And we need to make that a point of emphasis.
And our turnovers, their transition points. When you see the ball go in in transition it's easy to get going. They had three guys in 20 points or more, I believe, yeah. They got it going. And you can't let a team like that get going in that sense because they're lethal. And we just gotta do a better job.
Q. What are the takeaways for your team (indiscernible) Los Angeles? And what do you need to do in Game 5 to be the aggressors?
DONOVAN MITCHELL: I think you said it; we need to be the aggressors. They came out, took both at home. But at the end of the day, they did what they were supposed to do; they won two games on their home floor. They took care of home court. So did we.
It may not feel or look like -- sorry -- may not look or feel that way, but that's what they were supposed to do. We did the same thing. It's on us to go out there and be the aggressor, take care of home court and go from there. I think -- we were up 2-0. We felt we could have got one. We didn't. We have to understand it's just 2-2. And we've got to go out there, the best out of three at this point.
Q. What's it been like carrying this workload without Mike in the lineup? And how have you been holding up overall physically?
DONOVAN MITCHELL: It's been different. It's tough, you know -- it's tough, but that's the job at hand. And we've done a great job as a group. We've tried to throw different looks and do different things. But it's tough, but it is what it is.
Q. There were times tonight where we heard Quin Snyder saying that he felt like you guys were in your heads. Is that a fair assessment? And if that's the case for you, how do you get your guys going back to that place where you're just playing instinctually and trusting what you guys have been doing all year long?
DONOVAN MITCHELL: You know, I think the biggest thing the way we played in the second half, looking at that part of the film and understanding that, that's who we are, that's what we do. Even still, we didn't play a perfect half. So for us, I think being able to take that half, look at it and go back home with that same energy, I think, is huge.
If we can go out there and do that -- it's a tale of two halves the past two games for us. We have to understand we've got to put it together completely. We have to take care of home court. They came out and punched us in the face twice; we've got to be ready for it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports