Donovan Mitchell said Kawhi Leonard "destroyed" the Utah Jazz in Game 4's 118-104 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, but he is bullish the top seeds can get back to winning ways.
Leonard scored 31 points with seven rebounds and three assists for the Clippers, well supported by Paul George with 31 points and nine rebounds as they levelled up the series at 2-2.
Mitchell put up 37 points for the Jazz but it was not enough, after his side trailed by 24 points at half-time following the Clippers' first-half blitz.
"He destroyed us, he had a hell of a game," Mitchell said about Leonard, who finished the game on the bench after a knock to his knee from a collision with Joe Ingles.
Leonard refused to be drawn on the potential injury, declining to address it in-depth in his post-game video conference and saying on court: "Nah, I'll be good."
Mitchell said that the Clippers were on a "different level" but was buoyed by his side's second-half display.
"They had three guys with 20 points or more, they got going," Mitchell said. "We can't let a team like that get going because they're lethal."
He added: "They just were at a different level. We couldn’t buy a bucket.
"Sometimes that's the case but we've got to continue to guard. I think we found a few things that will give us an advantage. We started being aggressive and that's how we cut it to 10-12.
"If we can continue to play like we did in the second half… come out in Game 5 and be ready, I think we'll be in good shape but we've also got to guard too."
On Wednesday the series returns to Salt Lake City where the Jazz won the opening two games, before the Clippers won the next two in Los Angeles.
"We've got to take care of home court," Mitchell said. "They came out and punched us in the face two times. We've got to be ready for it."