Jazz Blow 25 Point Lead, Fall To Clippers
Mar 29, 2022, 10:39 PM | Updated: Mar 30, 2022, 12:01 am
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert blocks Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris shot (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz blew a 25 point lead and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 121-115.
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points to lead the Jazz but was overshadowed by Paul George who scored 34 points in his return after missing the last 43 points with an elbow injury.
It marks the 14th time this season the Jazz have blown a double-digit lead this season.
First Quarter
Juancho Hernangomez got the Jazz off to a hot start knocking down two first quarter threes.
However, the Jazz struggled to take care of the ball against the Clippers as Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley committed two turnovers each.
🌲 ➡️ 🕷
Spida with a nasty slam❗️💪#TakeNote #UTAvsLAC https://t.co/wjySA0EaKF
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 30, 2022
Mitchell was able to find a rhythm after knocking down a few jump shots and threw down an impressive alley-oop to show that there were no lingering issues from his rolled ankle on Sunday.
Conley hit a mid-court three to end the quarter as the Jazz knocked down 5-8 from deep, and took a 32-14 lead into the second quarter.
Second Quarter
After going 0-5 from three in the first quarter, the Clippers caught fire in the second knocking down 7-13 from downtown.
Though they trailed by as much as 21 in the second, the Clippers trimmed the Jazz lead to just 10 with under four minutes to play.
Before leaving the #UTAvsLAC game, Forrest had two points, two rebounds, and three assists in seven minutes of action. 🙏#TakeNote https://t.co/gz6iZxh1iu
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 30, 2022
But, the Jazz closed the quarter well and rebuilt their lead to 13 at the break behind a combined 24 points from Mitchell and Conley.
At the half, the Jazz led the Clippers 61-48.
Third Quarter
The Jazz came out of the break on an 8-0 run to rebuild their lead to 21 just 95 seconds into the third quarter.
Paul George had missed 43 games before returning against the Jazz but had 28 points in 24 minutes through the first three quarters of the game.
Hammer time with @juanchiviris41. 🔨💪#TakeNote #UTAvsLAC https://t.co/AYrLg24LfV
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 30, 2022
The Clippers closed the third quarter on a 12-4 run to trim a Jazz 20 point lead to just 12 heading into the fourth.
After three, the Jazz led the Clippers 94-82.
Fourth Quarter
Even with George off the floor to open the fourth quarter the Clippers ate into the Jazz lead and trimmed it to single digits with just under eight minutes left to play.
George was supposed to be on a minutes restriction, but between his excellent performance, and the game being close, Ty Lue let the All-Star forward eclipse the restriction and finished the game having played nearly 31 minutes.
The Clippers fully erased the Jazz lead with just under three minutes to play, but a 4-0 allowed the Jazz to retake a one point advantage with 1:54 left to play.
However, untimely turnovers and poor defense gave the Clippers a 121-115 win over the Jazz.
