Up until then, it had been friendly texts — dating from when Lillard reached out to him on draft night after Mitchell had been picked 13th overall by the Utah Jazz to say he admired his game. But it’s easy to be friendly when you’re not on opposing sides of the court.
So did Mitchell, who had a career-high 28 points to Lillard’s game-leading 33 in the Jazz’s 112-103 overtime win.
It was a duel that was a little unexpected: When Rodney Hood hit a slump going 0 for 11, Mitchell filled in.