An MRI on the right ankle sprain of Donovan Mitchell revealed no structural damage, but the Utah Jazz guard is expected to miss several games before he is cleared to return, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Mitchell suffered the injury during the third quarter of Friday’s 119-111 win over the Pacers when he jumped to try to deflect a long outlet pass and came down awkwardly with his foot underneath Indiana guard Edmond Sumner. Mitchell immediately grabbed his lower leg in pain and needed help getting to the locker room, with teammate Royce O’Neale and a trainer supporting him.
Sources told Wojnarowski on Friday that Mitchell has a low ankle sprain and that X-rays were negative.
“Obviously we hope that it’s nothing serious,” coach Quin Snyder said after Friday’s game, “but they’re in the process of doing everything they can do to assess that.”
Mitchell has been on an offensive tear in the past month, averaging 30.0 points per game in April with scoring outbursts not done in a Jazz uniform since Karl Malone. Mitchell had a four-game run of scoring at least 35, with 40 in three of the four games.
The 24-year-old is averaging career highs almost across the board in his fourth season with 26.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the first-place Jazz.
Information from ESPN’s Royce Young was used in this report.