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Snyder: Mitchell 'in good shape' despite tweaking ankle in Game 3

Adam Pantozzi / National Basketball Association / Getty

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell sat out the final seven minutes of his team's 132-106 loss Saturday to the Los Angeles Clippers after appearing to tweak his right ankle.

Mitchell was later seen on the bench with a heavy amount of ice taped around his ankle, though Jazz head coach Quin Snyder says there's no concern about the 24-year-old's health.

"He’s in good shape. He could have gone back in the game," Snyder told reporters postgame, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

Snyder added Mitchell didn't return because "the game had gotten away from us." When the Jazz guard checked out for good with 7:05 left in the fourth, Utah trailed Los Angeles by 11. However, the Clippers' lead quickly ballooned to as high as 28 points as Tyronn Lue's club prevented the Jazz from taking a 3-0 series lead.

Mitchell corroborated the update from his coach.

"I'm good," Mitchell said, according to Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune. "That's all I got for you - I'm good. ... We went 16, 18 down, it didn't make sense to go back out there. Just rest and get ready for the next game."

"It’s when I land," Mitchell added of the pain he experienced. "It's been just trying to manage it. I don't really know what else to tell you; I don't want to say too much. It was just the landing, but I'm good. I’ll be ready for Game 4."

Mitchell missed the final month of the regular season with a significant sprain to the same ankle. The ailment also forced him to miss Utah's first game of the postseason against the Memphis Grizzlies, which until Saturday was the team's only loss of the playoffs.

After being held out of that contest, Mitchell admitted he was frustrated with the team's medical staff and disagreed with their decision, believing he was healthy enough to play.

In seven games this postseason, Mitchell is averaging 32.3 points and shooting 43.7% on threes at 10.1 attempts per contest. He currently leads all scorers still active in the conference semifinals.

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