A teary-eyed Donovan Mitchell said the pain of the Jazz's brutal playoff loss is nothing compared to victims of police brutality

• Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz lost a close Game 7 to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and were eliminated from the playoffs.
• After the game, Mitchell, teary-eyed, said the pain of the loss was nothing compared to the families who had experienced police brutality.
• Social justice reform has been a major part of the NBA bubble, and Mitchell said he was happy players could communicate their message during games.

The Utah Jazz were knocked out of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in brutal fashion on Tuesday.

After blowing a 3-1 series lead, the Jazz climbed back from a 19-point deficit on Tuesday, only for guard Donovan Mitchell to turn the ball over with 15 seconds to play, down two. The Jazz got the ball back, but Mike Conley's desparation three-pointer rimmed in and out.

After the game, a teary-eyed Mitchell, who had collapsed to the ground at the final buzzer, told reporters that the pain of the loss was nothing compared to the families who have experienced police brutality.

"The pain that's on my face right now and the way I feel, I can only imagine what's going through these victims' families," Mitchell said. "I know I'm probably going to go back there and cry again and s---, but … this is a game. People lost their family members to police brutality and racism and s---. I can only imagine. I wanted to say that. I wanted to get that out there because the way that I'm feeling right now is nothing compared to that."

Throughout his media session, Mitchell repeatedly referred to the NBA bubble as a way for the players to communicate messages of social justice reform. Mitchell credited the NBA for providing the platform. He also referred to the player protests of games last week over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, saying players decided to resume the season so they could continue pushing their message.

"At the end of the day, we came down here for a reason. Obviously, to win a championship, but also to continue the message. We stopped playing and continued to play because we wanted to continue to preach our message. I'm very happy with the way things went as far as being able to come back on the floor and us and the NBA and owners agreeing on certain things. I hope as these playoffs and everyone watches we continue to push for what is really needed in this world, man."

After players sat out three days of games in protest, they agreed to resume the season, with some feeling their platform was bigger while playing. Others also wanted to finish the season after the sacrifices made to make the bubble work.

Players also met with team owners to push for action to help achieve social justice reform.

"I appreciate the NBA and everybody in this league for continuing to push that message," Mitchell said, "because it's not stopping."

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• NBA players were reportedly 'blindsided' and frustrated by the Bucks' sudden protest that nearly ended the season
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