The stroke of midnight was near and the final bits of Utah Jazz fans slowly shuffled their way Saturday night out of Vivint Smart Home Arena. Some young fans, sporting their oversized red, orange and yellow T-shirts, cried. Others, still dazed by the reality that their team now faces a 3-0 deficit in the first round of the NBA playoffs, could only bite down on their special edition postseason shirts as they made their frustrating walk back to their cars, back home, knowing full well this season is very much on the brink.
Outside of the Jazz locker room, Donovan Mitchell’s mom and sister stopped at the new playoff banner that lines the concrete walls toward the entrance to the floor and took selfies in front of his photo, proud of his bounce-back performance.