Field Level Media
Jan 20, 2018
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and Joe Ingles matched a pair of career highs, scoring 21 points while making five 3-pointers, to lead the Utah Jazz to a 125-113 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Six different players scored in double figures to help Utah win for just the sixth time in its last 22 games. The Jazz led from wire-to-wire.
Lou Williams scored 31 points, collected 10 steals and dished out seven assists. Blake Griffin chipped in 25 points and eight rebounds while Wesley Johnson added 17 points and eight boards off the bench.
The Clippers saw a six-game winning streak snapped.
Utah started strong on offense and set new season-highs for points in a quarter (39 in the first) and points in a half (76) during the first half. The Jazz shot 30-of-48 from the field before halftime and got contributions across the board along the way.
The Clippers kept it close for a short time during the first quarter. Los Angeles cut Utah's lead to 15-14 when Milos Teodosic buried a pull-up 3-pointer. Then the Jazz steadily pulled away. Jonas Jerebko made back-to-back layups while Ricky Rubio drained a 3-pointer and Ingles buried a jumper over the next four possessions to fuel a 9-2 run. It gave Utah some breathing room with a 24-16 lead.
The Jazz eventually opened up their first double-digit lead at 35-24 off a 3-pointer from Raul Neto. Utah kept pressing on the gas pedal well into the second quarter. Los Angeles trailed by double digits virtually the entire quarter. The Jazz led by as many as 20 points before halftime, going up 76-56 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Ingles.
Utah increased its lead to 25 points early in the third quarter. Donovan Mitchell slashed to the rim and completed a 3-point play to put the Jazz up 94-69 with 6:48 left in the quarter.
Los Angeles made a rally in the fourth quarter, keyed by several baskets and steals from Williams. The Clippers eventually trimmed Utah's lead to 119-113 on a 3-pointer from Teodosic with 1:19 left.
Utah weathered the storm. Gobert threw down a dunk while Rubio and Mitchell both made free throws to secure the win in the final minute.
--Field Level Media