National Basketball Association
Utah 114, LA Clippers 108
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, March 13, 2017
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #19 James Capers, #28 Kevin Scott, #37 Eric Dalen
Attendance: 19911

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two different times this season, the Utah Jazz seemed powerless to prevent the Los Angeles Clippers from draining every ounce of life and energy from their offense. The Clippers contested shot after shot, forced bunches of turnovers and eventually handed Utah two of its worst offensive performances of the season.

The Jazz finally rose up and buried one 3-pointer after another throughout the second half en route to a 114-108 over the Clippers on Monday.

Utah hit 10 straight 3-pointers to open the second half and finished 11-of-12 from the perimeter over the final two quarters. The lone miss came with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter.

Gordon Hayward led the way, scoring 27 points while shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

"I know we always talk about our defense and that's where we get going but the last two times we played this team, we've laid an egg offensively," Hayward said. "(We) haven't been able to make shots and haven't been able to get good looks. For us to score the basketball like we did tonight was good for us as a team. It gave us some confidence and I'm definitely pleased with that."

George Hill added 19 points while Joe Ingles chipped in 18 points and Joe Johnson added 14 off the bench for the Jazz. Utah (42-25) earned its first victory of the season over Los Angeles.

Chris Paul scored a season-high 33 points while J.J. Redick added 16 points and Austin Rivers chipped in 15 for the Clippers. Los Angeles (40-27) fell two games behind Utah in the race for a top-four seed after failing to contain the Jazz from the perimeter.

"They didn't feel us," Paul said. "They were just coming off naked. They were putting us in rotations and they were getting whatever they wanted."

The Jazz rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter after scoring a season-high 40 points. Utah made all six 3-pointers it attempted in the quarter to fuel the comeback.

Initially, Utah tied it at 63-63 when Boris Diaw drained an outside basket and then Hill promptly stole a pass from DeAndre Jordan and took it in for a layup. The Clippers answered by ripping off nine unanswered points capped by 3-pointers from Luc Mbah a Moute and Paul to surge back in front 72-63.

The Jazz closed the gap again on 3-pointers from Hill and Ingles. Utah finally took its first lead of the half on a fadeaway jumper from Johnson and a pair of free throws from Dante Exum, going up 84-81 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.

Jazz coach Quin Snyder credited his players for being patient and making the extra effort to create scoring chances.

"When the ball moves you get better shots," Snyder said. "We didn't shoot well the last time we played the Clippers, but that was because of them. We didn't get good looks."

Utah's hot shooting from the perimeter extended into the fourth quarter. The Jazz made four straight 3-pointers in the quarter before finally missing one. Exum and Hayward sank a one each on back-to-back possessions and Hayward added another a couple of minutes later to cap off the streak. It helped push Utah to a 105-92 lead with 5:28 remaining.

The Clippers cut it to 107-103 on a jumper from Blake Griffin with 2:03 left. Johnson answered with back-to-back baskets to keep Los Angeles from pulling closer.

"They wanted this game," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "They took the game. We played great in the first half and had a lead. I thought we should have had a bigger lead at halftime to be honest. I thought that was our chance to separate and we didn't."

Before being unable to stop Utah's 3-point shooting in the second half, the Clippers took a 56-49 lead at halftime after holding six eight-point leads in the second quarter.

NOTES: Jazz F Derrick Favors missed his third straight game with a left knee contusion. An MRI on Sunday night uncovered the contusion. Favors is out indefinitely. He has missed 20 games this season. ... Clippers C DeAndre Jordan has collected 20-plus rebounds in nine games this season - the most of any NBA player - and averages 13.6 rebounds per game. Jordan grabbed only seven rebounds against Utah. ... The Jazz averaged just 73.5 points per game in two previous losses to the Clippers this season. ... Jazz G George Hill matched his season high with eight rebounds. ... G Chris Paul had a season-high in points for the second consecutive game. ... Jazz C Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 10 rebounds to notch his 46th double-double of the season.
Top Game Performances
 
LA Clippers   Utah
Chris Paul 33 Scoring Gordon Hayward 27
Chris Paul 7 Assists George Hill 6
Blake Griffin 9 Rebounds Rudy Gobert 10
Chris Paul 6 Free Throws Made Gordon Hayward 5
Jamal Crawford 1 Steals George Hill 1
DeAndre Jordan 2 Blocks Alec Burks 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
LA Clippers 108 50.0 12-30 18-23 16 28 2 4 6
Utah 114 52.6 14-21 18-22 22 42 3 1 9
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Jazz have a W/L % of .659 after a win and .577 after a loss.
  • LA Clippers will play their next game at home against Milwaukee. The Clippers have a W/L % of .683 after a win and .462 after a loss.