Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles shine as Utah Jazz extend home win streak to 24 games

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"MVP, MVP, MVP!"

The chants rained down from the Vivint Arena crowd, applauding Donovan Mitchell, who continued his red-hot streak, with another monster performance to lead the Utah Jazz to a 128-112 win over the Sacramento Kings, extending their home winning streak to 24 games. 

Mitchell tied his season-high with 42 points, Mike Conley Jr. added 26 points and Joe Ingles 20 as the Jazz found an extra gear down the stretch to become the first team this season to reach 40 wins.  

In a game that featured 17 lead changes, the Jazz left it late to seal the win. After Harrison Barnes' dunk, put the Kings up 105-104 with 6:05 remaining, the Jazz closed the game on a 24-7 run, with Mitchell scoring eight in the run.

De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 30 points and eight assists, while Richuan Holmes impressed in his matchup with Rudy Gobert, recording 25 points and 0 rebounds on an efficient 10-of-13 from the field. 

Mitchell makes history

What a week Donovan Mitchell is having! 

The All-Star guard followed up his 41-point performance against the Suns and his 37-point outing against the Blazers with a monster 42 points against the Kings — his 18th 30-point game this season

Mitchell scored 30 of his 42 in the second half and while he struggled from the field shooting 12-of-31 and 3-of-12 from deep, he was clinical at the free-throw line, burying 15 of his 17 attempts, getting to rim down the stretch and drawing contact time after time.

He is the first Jazz player since Karl Malone in 1993 to record three-straight 35+ point games and just the fourth player in Jazz franchise history to do so, joining Malone, Adrian Dantley and Pete Maravich.

Through 49 games, Mitchell is averaging 26 points, 5.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds 1.0 steals on 43.9 percent shooting, 38.9 percent from the 3-point line and 84.4 percent at the charity stripe.

Ingles sparks bench...and teammates

With Jordan Clarkson sidelined with a right ankle sprain, the Jazz needed someone to step up on the bench and sharp-shooter Joe Ingles answered the call. 

The Aussie, who is putting together a historic shooting season, poured in 20 points on 5-of-10 from the 3-point line, leading the Jazz second unit which outscored the Kings bench 41-16.


Georges Niang added 12 points, all from beyond the arc (4-of-5), while Derrick Favors recorded six points and seven rebounds. 

Ingles scored 11 of his 20 in the third quarter and after every shot he hit, he was talking to the Kings bench, letting them know the Jazz weren't slowing down.

“Somebody said something to Joe and Joe gave an answer that I hadn’t heard in a while,” Mitchell said post-game. “That fired me up. When Joe gets angry, I get angry. You saw it when he was coming down and cashing in. That’s really what turned the tide for me personally.”

Mitchell went on to score 16 in the third quarter as Ingles' trash talk lit a fire in his teammates. 

“It’s actually funny,” Ingles said. “I never go into a game thinking of talking to anyone, but I probably get in more conversations than anyone else on our team.

"It’s just little things, honestly. Deep down inside, I think it’s really funny. It’s more of a funny, comedy thing to me. But obviously, it lights something up in me. It makes the game fun.”

What's next?

The Jazz will look to extend their win streak with their next three games at Vivint Arena, starting with the Washington Wizards on Monday (E.T.)

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Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.