SALT LAKE CITY — At first, Donovan Mitchell was a little hesitant to announce the inspiration to his filthy cross-over move that came in the third quarter of Utah’s 111-105 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

He knows what team he plays for. And what a certain Michael Jordan did during the 1998 NBA Finals. But there was no denying that the move he put on Landry Shamet was very similar to the one Jordan did on the same court that broke the hearts of Jazz fans everywhere over 20 years ago.

You could almost hear the skid marks from Shamet’s shoes as he tried to hold up. He got shook — so shook that he wasn’t even fully turned around by the time Mitchell had released his shot.

Mitchell had driven right, quickly stopped and crossed over Shamet so hard that the Clipper guard took three full steps before he could come to a stop — a slight push from Mitchell helped a little, too. The same kind of push that Jordan did to Bryon Russell all those years ago in the NBA Finals.

“That was nice,” Jazz forward Jae Crowder said of the move. “You knew it was going up once he got him leaning."

Mitchell put it up. And, like Jordan before him, he buried it.

“I probably shouldn't say this because I play for the Jazz,” Mitchell said. “But you know how MJ, you know, pushed off. That was kind of similar — the same little trick. But not really pushing off too much.”

It should be no surprise that Mitchell looked a little Jordan-esque on Wednesday. It's no secret that Mitchell wears No. 45 in honor of the Chicago Bull great.

“He’s the greatest basketball player of all time and he always will be,” Mitchell said during All-Star weekend.

The young star has seen Jordan’s championship-winning shot against the Jazz over and over and over. And he didn’t shy away from the fact that that was exactly what inspired his move on Wednesday.

“That’s really where kind of envision that as a kid so many times,” Mitchell said. “That’s where it came from.”

He envisioned doing it as a kid. But on Wednesday, he got to live it — and in the same arena.

“On the same court, probably on the same spot,” Mitchell said.

This time, though, the Jazz fans got to cheer.

Rubio leaves with injured hamstring

Ricky Rubio was forced to miss the end of Wednesday’s win due to a tight left hamstring.

Rubio played 24 minutes, scoring 13 points before exiting the contest. Raul Neto finished in his place abd scored 10 points — including a key fourth-quarter 3-pointer — and had five rebounds for the Jazz.

“Raul, in particular, came in and was terrific,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “Did a lot of little things and made a couple of big plays.”

Rubio’s status for Thursday’s game against Denver is unknown.

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