Los Angeles Clippers win 17th in a row; beat Utah Jazz 107-96: NBA Recap
Los Angeles Clippers have won their 16 previous games in different ways. They won some of the games at the buzzer, routed some of them; overcame a 19- point deficit in one contest, and sometimes, their bench rallied them back into
the game.
But somehow, they always find a way to keep their winning streak alive. Tonight it was the veteran Caron Butler who carried them to a 107-96 victory over Utah Jazz. The Clippers have defeated the Jazz 3 times in their 17 game winning
streak and they became the third NBA team to finish 16-0 in a month, matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers and the 1995-96 San Antonio Spurs.
"When we win we usually jump up and down once or twice," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Tonight we let them jump and down three or four times, so everyone had their fill."
Butler was red hot; he posted 29 points as he went 6 of 6 from the three point land. Guard Chris Paul had 19 points and 9 assists under his belt while Jamal Crawford added 19 points coming off the bench. Their winning streak is
the longest since Boston Celtics won 19 in a row 4 years ago.
"That's an incredible record to have," Utah's Derrick Favors said. "They've got 17 straight wins and they're playing hard. I know there's a lot of pressure on them to try to keep it up, and they're going to keep coming out and
keep playing the same way."
But Blake Griffin believes it is just the opposite
"You don't really think about it that much. We're having a blast," he said about the streak. "It's not like it's one of these things where it's so much pressure.
Utah had some tough losses against the Clips this month; they went down 116-114 this Friday as they blew a 19 point advantage and they were beaten 105-104 by the Clips at the start of December, both times at Utah.
However, this time around the Clips hosted them in Staples Center and they were in control of the game right from the start. Utah Jazz came back hard later in the third quarter and overcame a 9 point halftime deficit to go in front
on 76-75 with 2:03 left in the period. Clippers tightened up the defence as they scored the final four points in the third period and made the first basket of the fourth quarter to go up 81-76.
The reserves kept the Jazz in check and allowed Paul and Blake Griffin some rest. Jamal Crawford scored 4 straight points to put Los Angeles in command as Utah never came closer than 5 points the rest of the way as the Clippers
cruised to victory.
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