On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Clippers entered Vivint Arena riding a four-game winning streak, most recently a 16-point demolishing of the Phoenix Suns two nights ago. But just like the snowstorm that blew into Salt Lake City last night, the Clippers ran into some trouble as well against the hottest team in the league.
The Utah Jazz used a massive 16-2 run late in the fourth quarter to take down the Clippers 124-103 in front of a national audience. It was the eighth straight win for the Jazz, tied for the second-longest winning streak in the NBA this season.
“I thought the second half in general, we were more solid defensively,” head coach Quin Snyder said postgame. “It felt like we had some mistakes in the first half, a few breakdowns. They were doing some really good things offensively, but I thought our guys did better the whole second half of locking in.”
It was another dominant performance on offense for the Jazz, shooting 52.8% (47-for-89) from the floor and 40.5% (15-for-37) from three-point territory. Four players finished with 20+ points, led by Donovan Mitchell’s 27 and Jordan Clarkson’s 21.
But it was big man Rudy Gobert who stole the show, finishing with his 21st double-double of the season with 20 points and 17 rebounds. He added three assists, two blocks and finished with a +12 rating. While his one-handed dunk punctuated the run late in the game, it was an assist to Bojan Bogdanovic that really showed Gobert’s evolution on the offensive end of the court.
Following an offensive rebound, Gobert had the presence in mind to look for an open shooter knowing the Clippers had collapsed the paint to grab the rebound. What followed was a no-look pass to the corner where Bogdanovic waited with open arms, calmly knocking down the three-pointer and sending Vivint Arena into a frenzy.
After being so deadly from beyond the arc throughout the winning streak, Mitchell had some good looks from three-point territory early on but couldn’t get the shot to fall. But as his game has matured throughout the years, he was highly effective within the arc. Whether it was a pull-up jumper or coming hard off a screen to the rim, he finished a perfect 8-for-8 from two-point shots on the night.
He added six assists and two steals to go along with his game-high +29 rating.
“Just trying not to be predictable is the biggest thing. … Just trying to find balance between explosion and what I did in the playoffs last year and staying grounded because I had no choice,” Mitchell said. “I fell in love with how I played in the playoffs as far as the pace and change because it’s a sense of maturity for me.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair to start, with both teams getting off to hot starts on offense.
Marcus Morris Sr. and Luke Kennard dropped a combined 21 points in the opening 12 minutes for the Clippers while the Jazz countered with a more well-rounded approach. Eight different players scored in the first quarter as Utah shot 60.9% from the field and led 35-31.
Eric Bledsoe caught fire for Los Angeles in the second quarter with 13 points, but Clarkson was up to the task with 10 points of his own while Bogdanovic added three three-pointers to help give the Jazz a 65-59 lead at the break.
With more emphasis on defense in the second half, Utah held the Clippers to 44 points over the final 24 minutes as they shot 42.5% from the floor and 14.3% from beyond the arc. The Jazz did a much better job reacting on transition defense and running to protect the paint, while communication allowed them to be more aggressive, leading to eight Los Angeles turnovers.
“We felt like we could do better in that area (defensively),” Gobert said of the second half adjustments. “Throughout the game, you can feel individually that we can do better, and we do it. We try to hold each other accountable, but at the same time, it has to come within ourselves. ... It’s good to see that we are all on the same page.”
As the defense continued to hold its own, the offense showed its prowess on the other end of the court.
Utah extended its lead to as many as 17 points late in the third quarter before a Morris 7-0 run cut the Jazz lead to 12 entering the final 12 minutes.
Los Angeles continued to chip away in the fourth, cutting Utah’s lead to seven with 8:32 left in the game. But Mitchell, who just checked back into the game, hit a 30-footer on the ensuing possession to ignite the late run and put the game away.
“The correlation between us playing on defense and going on runs offensively, it’s not one-to-one, but it’s pretty close,” Snyder said. “I think our understanding of when we do gets stops we can take advantage on the other end, that’s something we’ve talked about and seen progress with. We don’t let up with our concentration and our execution.”
Bogdanovic added 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, while Hassan Whiteside chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Clarkson was sensational off the bench, shooting 8-of-14 from the floor, 3-for-5 from deep while adding four rebounds and three assists.
Morris finished with 24 points while Bledsoe added 21 for the Clippers.
Utah will have one day off before returning to action for the first game of a back-to-back. It starts with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday at 7 p.m. MST, followed by a rematch with the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.