Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 22 rebounds to lead the visiting Utah Jazz to their season-high fifth consecutive win, a 129-109 blowout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Utah moved back into eighth place in the Western Conference with the win, bumping the Los Angeles Lakers into ninth. The Jazz pulled within percentage points of the seventh-place Clippers, who lost their fourth in a row to match their season-worst skid.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points to surpass his season scoring average (21.5) for the seventh straight game. He is averaging 29.7 points in that stretch.
Utah also received 23 points off the bench from Jae Crowder and 19 from Kyle Korver. Derrick Favors added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Royce O'Neale contributed 10 points.
Lou Williams scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Clippers. Tobias Harris scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and Avery Bradley added 15 points for Los Angeles. Montrezl Harrell had 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds.
The Jazz led 56-49 at the half behind 14 points from Crowder and 11 from Korver, both of whom surpassed their season averages of 11.8 and 9.7, respectively. Utah stretched its lead to as much as 18 with 1:09 left before taking an 88-72 advantage into the fourth.
The Jazz, who never fell behind in their previous two wins against the Clippers, never trailed after taking a 10-9 lead just over four minutes into the game in their first meeting against Los Angeles this season.
Utah used a 13-2 run to move ahead 28-17 with 1:30 left in the first quarter and maintained a nine-point edge entering the second. Korver's four-point play gave the Jazz their biggest lead of the first half at 37-24 with 10:27 left.
The Clippers came back with a 12-0 run to get back within one, and they eventually tied the score at 41-41 with 4:42 left in the half, but they never regained the lead.
The Jazz continued to be without starting point guard Ricky Rubio, who missed his fifth consecutive game because a hamstring injury. Utah was also without reserves Thabo Sefolosha (hamstring), Raul Neto (groin) and Dante Exum (ankle).
Rubio, Sefolosha and Neto will be re-evaluated in one week, and Exum in two weeks.
--Field Level Media
Utah | L.A. Clippers | |
Donovan Mitchell 28 | Scoring | Lou Williams 23 |
Joe Ingles 8 | Assists | Lou Williams 6 |
Rudy Gobert 22 | Rebounds | Montrezl Harrell 7 |
Rudy Gobert 9 | Free Throws Made | Tobias Harris 2 |
Donovan Mitchell 3 | Steals | Montrezl Harrell 3 |
Rudy Gobert 4 | Blocks | Montrezl Harrell 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Utah | 129 | 51.2 | 11-33 | 30-37 | 27 | 48 | 7 | 9 | 13 |
L.A. Clippers | 109 | 45.9 | 10-22 | 9-14 | 24 | 41 | 1 | 8 | 12 |