National Basketball Association
L.A. Clippers 96, Utah 87
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, March 14, 2014
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials:
#44 Eli Roe, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #25 Tony Brothers
Attendance:
19381
By SportsDirect Inc.
Clippers 96, Jazz 87: Blake Griffin scored 20 points, the 25th straight game he has hit that mark, and visiting Los Angeles won its 10th consecutive game.
Chris Paul added 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals and Matt Barnes scored 15 for the Clippers, who tightened their grip on the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings. Darren Collison contributed 14 points in his seventh straight start for the injured Jamal Crawford and Willie Green led the L.A. reserves with 12 points.
Trey Burke and Derrick Favors scored 18 points apiece to lead the Jazz. Richard Jefferson finished with 14 points, Enes Kanter had 11 points and 15 rebounds and Alec Burks came up with 10 points off the bench for Utah, which received seven points on 2-of-8 shooting from leading scorer Gordon Hayward.
The Clippers never led until Hayward turned the ball over and Paul scored on a layup for a 71-70 lead with 1:30 left in the third quarter. That was part of a 17-2 run L.A. used to close the quarter and take a 77-72 lead into the fourth.
Glen Davis blocked Kanter’s layup attempt early in the fourth quarter and that led to a second-chance 3-pointer on the other end by Green for an 80-72 lead. The Jazz cut the deficit to five three different times but on each occasion the Clippers answered with a bucket, the last a 16-footer by Griffin with just over three minutes left that sparked a 6-0 run.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Clippers were limited to 43 first-half points, their fewest since scoring 42 against Utah on Feb. 1. … Paul passed Mookie Blaylock for 30th on the NBA’s all-time assist list (5,974). … Paul, already dealing with a sore groin, came up limping on the third-quarter play that gave the Clippers the first lead of the game after rolling his left ankle under the basket. He briefly went to the locker room but returned to the game with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
Top Game Performances
L.A. Clippers |
|
Utah |
Blake Griffin 20 |
Scoring |
Trey Burke 18 |
Chris Paul 7 |
Assists |
Gordon Hayward 10 |
DeAndre Jordan 10 |
Rebounds |
Enes Kanter 15 |
Blake Griffin 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Derrick Favors 4 |
Chris Paul 3 |
Steals |
Alec Burks 2 |
Matt Barnes 1 |
Blocks |
Jeremy Evans 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
L.A. Clippers
|
96 |
48.7 |
9-23 |
13-20 |
20 |
32 |
3 |
12 |
11 |
Utah
|
87 |
45.5 |
7-14 |
10-13 |
18 |
39 |
3 |
7 |
20 |
Upcoming Games
-
Utah will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Jazz have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
-
L.A. Clippers will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Clippers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.