Clippers-Jazz Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 31 2012 9:42PM

While Blake Griffin's incredible dunk during the Los Angeles Clippers' last game dominated the headlines, the team's recent efforts are all the more becoming of some well-deserved acclaim.

Seeking a season-best fourth consecutive win, Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles tries to avoid a 43rd loss in 44 road meetings with the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

The Clippers (12-6), who three days after knocking off Memphis 98-91 prevailed 109-105 at Denver on Sunday, are coming off arguably their most impressive win of the season. Los Angeles shot 56.3 percent from the floor - 13 of 25 from 3-point range - in handing NBA-leading Oklahoma City a 112-100 defeat Monday.

"We can't say that we've arrived after this game," Chris Paul, who posted 26 points and 14 assists, told the team's official website. "We're going to look at the film and there's still a lot of things we've got to clean up, but like I keep saying it's a great win for us especially with a young team like this."

The Clippers are shooting 50.0 percent in averaging 106.3 points during their run - significantly higher than their season mark of 98.6 per game.

"We're not going to read too much into it," Paul said of the team's recent play. "It let us know what we're capable of. We can explode offensively."

Paul's performance Monday left little to be desired but it was Griffin who stole the show - exploding for a one-handed monster jam over Thunder center Kendrick Perkins to send the crowd into a frenzy. He finished with 22 points and seven rebounds.

"Chris Paul was running around, getting what he wanted to get on the floor and making passes to guys for wide-open dunks and 3s," said Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant. "It's tough to stop."

Paul and Griffin now look to keep things going against a Utah team that's dominated this series at home. The Jazz (12-7) have outscored the Clippers by an average of 13.9 points during a 16-game winning streak on their own court.

Utah continued its home success over Los Angeles with a 108-79 victory Jan. 17, but the Clippers were without Paul in that matchup due to a strained left hamstring. The Jazz, meanwhile, will be shorthanded in this game, with Raja Bell (strained right adductor) out and Al Jefferson (inflamed right ankle) expected to be a game-time decision.

Utah, though, managed to overcome the absence of those two starters during a 93-89 win over Portland on Monday. Paul Millsap had 19 points and 15 boards as the Jazz battled back from an 11-point deficit.

"There's no quit in this group of guys. I've seen these guys go through a lot," coach Tyrone Corbin told the league's official website. "Those first two games of the season, we didn't play well at all. Everybody said, 'Look, we have to step it up and be more focused,' and we're doing it, and we're going to continue to do it. If we lose games when we're playing hard, we can deal with it, but we want to play hard every night and give it all we have."

Also coming up big was swingman Gordon Hayward, who scored 12 points down the stretch after missing his first eight shots.

"I was trying to forget the first half," Hayward said. "It's something I don't think any player wants to do ... missing layups, missing wide-open shots. ... You need to keep shooting."

The Clippers last prevailed in Salt Lake City just over nine years ago, 96-89 on Jan. 22, 2003.

Paul, Griffin lead Clippers past Jazz, 107-105

By LYNN DeBRUIN
Posted Feb 02 2012 2:54AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Chris Paul was shocked to learn the Los Angeles Clippers hadn't won in Utah since 2003.

He made sure that slate was wiped clean Wednesday night, scoring a season-high 34 points in the Clippers' 107-105 victory over the Jazz.

The win ended a string of 16 straight losses in Salt Lake City, where the Clippers had prevailed just once in the previous 39 meetings.

"We really wanted this game," Paul said. "It's a new (Clippers) team right here."

Paul scored 12 points in the fourth quarter of a tight game. He also handed out 11 assists, with most going to Blake Griffin for dunks, including one just seven seconds into the game.

"He's just one of those guys that can make everybody on the floor better," Jazz swingman C.J. Miles said of the Clippers' superstar point guard. "He gets the ball in his hands. He makes the right decisions. He makes it tough on you and he showed tonight why."

The game was a far cry from the first meeting on Jan. 17 when the Jazz rolled to a 108-79 loss, and temporarily stole the nickname Lob City with eight dunks.

Paul didn't play in that game because of a left hamstring injury, and neither did backup Mo Williams.

While starting forward Caron Butler was out Wednesday with a sore lower back, the Clippers had just enough in the tank to hold off the Jazz down the stretch.

"It is tough to win here, we know that, and they're playing very well," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "But we were able to make enough plays in the second half. Our defense was better and we got more stops."

It helped that the Jazz are still struggling from the free throw line, making just 26 of 36.

The Clippers made nine free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Utah's C.J. Miles intentionally missed his second free throw with the Jazz down two points with 1.2 seconds left but Reggie Evans grabbed the rebound to seal the win.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said L.A.'s 50-35 rebounding edge was a big factor, with Griffin grabbing a team-high 14 to go along with his 31 points (14 of 22 shooting).

"I thought they outhustled us and got the ball," Corbin said. "And we missed 10 free throws in a two-point ball game and it ended up costing us."

The Jazz also lost a valuable player in the process as backup point guard Earl Watson left in the third quarter with a left ankle sprain and is doubtful for Thursday's game at Golden State.

The Clippers have now won four straight.

"We're tired, but we have another game tomorrow night against a very difficult opponent," Del Negro said of facing Denver. "We're going to have to get ready."

Al Jefferson had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Jazz.

Miles added 16 off the bench, including a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left that pulled Utah to 103-102. But Chauncey Billups, who made only 1 of 8 field goals, hit two more free throws to put Los Angeles up 105-102.

Devin Harris' two foul shots cut it to one point again, but Williams made both of his free throws.

The Clippers then quickly fouled, not letting the Jazz get off another 3-point attempt.

"It's a loss," Miles said. "I felt like it's a game we should have won. The beginning of the third quarter really hurt us."

The teams combined for only 32 points in the third quarter, after the Jazz led by 10 points in the second.

The Jazz led by four points early in the fourth, but Paul and Williams brought the Clippers back.

Paul's 3-pointer gave Los Angeles an 86-84 lead with 6:08 remaining, and his reverse layup later made it 92-87.

Paul Millsap thought he had tied the score at 94 for Utah but he was called for an offensive foul going against Griffin, who was playing with five personal fouls at the time.

Both teams were hot in the first half, with the Jazz shooting 61 percent (27 of 44) and L.A. 53 percent (24 for 45). The Clippers were just 5 of 22 on 3s, and the Jazz 3 of 11.

NOTES: Paul and Griffin combined for 26 of L.A.'s 32 first-quarter points. ... Williams had a four-point play for the Clippers late in the first quarter after being fouled on a 3-point shot by Josh Howard. He finished with 19 points. ... Derrick Favors started the game 4 of 4 for Utah and had 10 points in the first half, and finished with 14. ... Billups and Paul were both assessed first-half technicals, while the officials called double-technicals on Gordon Hayward and Williams in the third. ... Jazz SG Raja Bell missed his second straight game with a strained adductor.

Notebook: Clippers 107, Jazz 105

By Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday February 2, 2012 2:23AM

THE FACTS: So, that's what all the hype is about.

The Los Angeles Clippers, playing with superstar point guard Chris Paul this time, avenged an earlier loss to the Utah Jazz with a 107-105 victory on Wednesday night. Paul had 34 points and 11 assists as the Clippers dazzled with momentum-changing lobs and dunks, and got revenge for a 108-79 loss to Utah on Jan. 17. Paul did not play in that contest.

Blake Griffin had 31 points, including a game-clinching three-point play with 21.9 seconds left. He also had 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who had lost 16 straight times and 42 of their last 43 meetings in Utah.

Center Al Jefferson carried the Jazz with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "This was a pretty good win for us. Last time we were here they pretty much embarrassed us. I was sitting over here in a suit. The fans were on us and different things like that. We really wanted this game. We didn't know the history of that (the Clippers losing 42 of their last 43 in Utah) but it's a new team right here."
-- Chris Paul on the significance of his team's victory.

THE STAT: The Clippers owned the Jazz on the boards with a 50-35 rebounding advantage. Los Angeles collected 12 offensive rebounds and turned them into 20 second-chance points.

TURNING POINT: Paul took over down the stretch. He made four straight shots for the Clippers -- three jumpers and a reverse layup -- to keep L.A. in the lead. His last jumper put the Clippers ahead 96-92. The clincher came after Jefferson made a shot to close Utah's deficit to 98-96. On the ensuing in-bounds pass, Griffin got the ball near mid-court, drove to the basket, made a layup and was fouled by Jefferson. He converted the free throw to make it 101-96.

HOT: Paul had the Jazz on skates, destroying them with drives to the basket, long-range baskets, as well as creating shots for his teammates. He shot 8-for-11 and had eight of his assists in the first half. Paul also helped the Clippers live up to their "Lob City" reputation as they finished with nine dunks. The first five shots they made were dunks with three of them coming off of lobs. It was an exciting -- not to mention a high percentage -- way to start the contest. Jefferson made seven of his first eight shots. Derrick Favors made his first four shots before missing his last three.

NOT: The Jazz's free-throw shooting woes were costly. They started 4-for-11 from the free-throw line. After making 13 straight foul shots, they had three misses in the fourth quarter. Utah missed 11 of its first 12 shots in the third quarter. The Jazz missed their first six 3-point attempts and finished 3-for-11 from 3-point range. Mo Williams, who also missed the first meeting of the season between the two teams along with Paul, shot just 6-for-18. Chauncey Billups shot 1-for-8.

QUOTABLE II: "The sky's the limit. We have all the pieces to be a great team. We got to keep getting better defensively, but we have the closers, we have the shot blockers, we have the shooters and everything that you need. We probably have the Sixth Man of the Year in Mo Williams. "
-- Chris Paul on his team's potential.

GOOD MOVE: Basic math said that the Clippers should foul when up three in the final seconds. Teams rarely do it, and it didn't please the home crowd, but it was smart and effective for Los Angeles. The Clippers, leading 105-102, fouled Devin Harris with 3.8 seconds remaining, and Harris sank both foul shots. With a 107-104 lead, they fouled C.J. Miles. He made one, and intentionally missed the second, trying to give Utah a chance to tie it with a two in the paint. It didn't work.

NOTABLE: Caron Butler was a late scratch for the Clippers because of a sore lower back. Ryan Gomes started in his place and did not score in 21 minutes. Jazz backup point guard Earl Watson, who had a team-high eight assists, suffered a severely sprained ankle in the third quarter and did not return. The Clippers hadn't won in Utah since January of 2003. Billups played in his 999th career game. Paul has recorded at least one steal in a league-high 23 games.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Thursday vs. Denver, Saturday @ Washington, Monday @ Orlando. For the Jazz, Thursday @ Golden State, Saturday vs. L.A. Lakers, Monday @ New York.

• Clippers: Bledsoe
• Jazz: --

• Clippers: Billups, Paul, Williams
• Jazz: Hayward

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 12

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #26 Pat Fraher, #72 J.T. Orr
• Attendance: 19637
• Duration: 2:35