How Jazz Outlasted Clippers on the Road, 110-102
The Utah Jazz continue to raise eyebrows around the NBA.
Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points while knocking down six three-pointers to lead the Utah Jazz to a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, 110-102.
Paul George led all scorers with 34 points in a losing cause.
Utah led for most of the game, but the Clippers made a run in the fourth that kept Jazz fans on the edge of their seat. George hit a couple of free throws to give L.A. a four-point lead with only 5:35 left in the game, but from that point, Utah finished a 9-0 run on a Malik Beasley three-pointer to take a 101-96 lead, and never looked back.
The Jazz announced earlier in the day that their starting power forward Jarred Vanderbilt would miss the contest due to a right adductor soreness. Utah’s best wing defender was sorely missed as George was able to have his way with whatever was thrown at him as he was able to get his 34 points on an efficient 22 shots.
But when the rubber met the road, Utah was able to overcome George’s effort with five players reaching double figures. Most notably, Collin Sexton came off the bench with 22 points, and Lauri Markkanen chipped in 18 points while grabbing nine rebounds.
The win improved Utah’s record to 8-3 and put them second in the Western Conference. The loss dropped the Clippers to 5-5 and tied for the eighth seed.
The Jazz travel back home to play their third game in four nights when they face the Los Angeles Lakers at Vivint Arena on Monday night.
Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.
