Utah Jazz Pick Up First Win Of Season Over LA Clippers

Oct 27, 2023, 10:06 PM

Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) hits a 3-pointer against (Photo courtesy of Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

(Photo courtesy of Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz showed out in the second game of the season as they picked up their first win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Despite Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combining for 61 points, Lauri Markkanen’s 35-point showing led the Jazz to a hard-fought two-point victory.

First Quarter

The Jazz opened the game against the Clippers with the best basketball they’ve played so far this season.

To the surprise of fans in the Delta Center, Walker Kessler opened scoring by spotting up in the corner and splashing a three-pointer.

“That was a different breed of Walker right there” –@WalkerKessler13 #Pura3Pointer | @Pura pic.twitter.com/Hfi2mQUszA

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2023

Utah looked like a different team defensively early on against LA.

They forced tough shots and rotated well which led to transition offense.

The Jazz shot ten more shots than the Clippers and led 33-30 at the end of the first.

every good dunk deserves a photo (or two) 📸 https://t.co/scZSyJYGvK pic.twitter.com/4KgmuCnQxU

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2023

Second Quarter

Utah came out in the second with just as much energy.

Maybe more importantly, the shots were falling. The Jazz made five straight threes to open a 15-4 lead.

𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 pic.twitter.com/ROba7pHX7A

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2023

The Clippers started to slow the pace to force the Jazz to guard them in the halfcourt.

LA’s plethora of isolation scorers began to heat up as they were able to get to their spots.

and still no sleeves in sight 😎 https://t.co/8IKcReO9ZI pic.twitter.com/nD1WvAPyih

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2023

Paul George and Kawhi Leonard torched Utah, but the Clippers’ role players struggled to get involved.

George and Leonard combined for 28 of LA’s 54 first-half points. The Jazz led 63-54 at the break.

plenty more buckets to come! pic.twitter.com/bbpDrI6JKG

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2023

Third Quarter

The Clippers came out of the break aggressively and immediately began to chip at the Jazz’s lead.

George scored ten straight points as LA got the lead down to as low as three.

2⃣8⃣ points for PG-1⃣3⃣ pic.twitter.com/CY4xx4fepi

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 28, 2023

Lauri Markkanen flipped the switch for Utah with a powerful dunk that caused the Utah crowd to jump to its feet.

Utah responded with a 13-2 run to regain a comfortable lead.

hitting all the high notes 🎵#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/dqTJWVM44f

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2023

The Jazz led by six at the end of the third, 89-83.

Fourth Quarter

If you can’t stay consistent down the stretch, then the work you put in up until that point can be wasted.

The Jazz learned that in game two against the Clippers.

Defensive lapses by Utah allowed Los Angeles to come storming back. They went on a 23-9 run to take their first lead of the game with less than six minutes left in regulation.

Just as it started looking bad for the Jazz, Kelly Olynyk connected on back-to-back three-pointers to regain the lead.

BACK-TO-BACK @KellyOlynyk THREES!!

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 28, 2023

The game was tied at 111 with three minutes left.

After a George three put Utah down one, Markkanen showed off some hustle with two offensive rebounds and a putback.

The Clippers took the lead back for just a few seconds until Clarkson lined up a three and found the bottom of the net.

Utah closed out the game on defense and walked away with their first win of the season, 120-118.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.