Los Angeles Clippers stage fourth quarter turnaround to take 105-104 victory over Utah Jazz – NBA Recap
The Utah Jazz hosted the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, trying to keep their unbeaten home record alive. And the Jazz took the fight to the Clippers, outscoring them 31-19 in the first period and making life hard for them. However, the Clippers responded in the final period where they outscored Utah 32-21 to take the game 105-104 in the end.
Blake Griffin had a monster game for the Clippers, finishing with 30 points and 11 rebounds where as Jamal Crawford came off the bench to add 20 points. Chris Paul finished with 14 points and 9 assists, going 0-4 from three point range.
Mo Williams had a team high 20 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, going 3 of 7 from three point range. Randy Foye finished with 19 points where as Gordon Hayward came off the bench to score 17 points and 5 rebounds for the team.
Both teams started off fighting for the lead, but Utah ran away through a three pointer by Williams followed by a dunk by Al Jefferson.
Jefferson later scored back to back field goals to put Jazz up 19-15, and the Jazz later compiled an 8-0 run capped off by a three pointer by Hayward to lead 29-16. The Jazz led 31-19 at the end of the first period.
The Clippers came back strong in the second period, opening with a 5-0 run and then Crawford taking over the game by scoring 7 points within 2 minutes and leaving the Jazz lead at 38-33. Later, Griffin took over the Clippers offence and scored seven straight points for the team, leaving the Clippers trailing 46-51. However, Utah kept scoring on the other end as well and managed to hold on to a 58-51 lead heading into the 2nd half.
Two free throws by Foye in the third period gave Utah a 68-57 lead, and Matt Carroll followed with a three pointer to have the Jazz leading 71-57. Griffin scored back to back layups for the Clippers to have them trailing 65-76, and a dunk by him later had the Clippers down 71-81. However, the Jazz held on to an 83-73 lead heading into the final period of the game.
The Clippers came alive in the final period, starting the quarter on a 9-2 run to trail 82-85. A three pointer by Crawford later in the period had them trailing 87-88, and a dunk by Griffin finally gave them a 91-90 lead. Utah replied with back to back slam dunks by Jefferson, and a layup by Paul Millsap had them leading 96-93 once again. Williams then scored a three pointer for Utah but Chauncey Billups responded with two free throws to tie the game at 99. Paul’s layup then gave the Clippers a two point lead and the Clippers managed to edge past the Jazz and take the 105-104 victory in the end.
The Jazz shot better from the field as well as three point range compared with the Clippers. They also outscored the visiting team in rebounds and assists, but had 17 turnovers as compared to only 10 for Los Angeles and allowed them back into the game in the final period.
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