Utah @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 24, 2017 ) Utah 84, L.A. Clippers 102

The Los Angeles Clippers were just starting to pull out of a funk and string together some wins when star forward Blake Griffin went down on Monday with a knee injury. The Clippers will be without the services of their leading scorer when they host the Utah Jazz on Thursday.

Griffin fell awkwardly while chasing a loose ball with teammate Austin Rivers during a 120-115 win over the rival Lakers on Monday and tests revealed a sprained MCL, which could keep him out of the lineup for the next two months. Griffin, who is averaging 23.6 points and 7.9 rebounds, joins a growing Los Angeles injury list that already included starting point guard Patrick Beverley out for the year following microfracture surgery and guard Milos Teodosic (plantar fasciitis) and small forward Danilo Gallinari (glute strain) missing for most of the last month. The Jazz know all about moving on from a star player's knee injury and will be trying to improve to 6-4 since center Rudy Gobert went down with a knee injury. Utah endured a rough transition without its defensive anchor but won three straight and four of the last five to pull within a game of .500.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE JAZZ (10-11): Utah is leaning more on power forward Derrick Favors in Gobert's absence, and Favors delivered 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting and nine rebounds while playing solid defense in a 106-77 drubbing of the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. "The box score says it with (Favors), but I think he was better than the box score," coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "He's different than Rudy, but he was also so effective protecting the rim today because he was just playing vertically." Favors blocked three shots in the win -- the fifth time in nine games without Gobert that he recorded multiple blocks.

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (8-11): Los Angeles earned the win in each of its last three games and will throw even more of the scoring load on the shoulders of veteran guard Lou Williams with Griffin out of the lineup. Williams, who took advantage of the injuries to Teodosic and Beverley to move into the starting lineup, exploded for 42 points on 12-of-21 shooting in Monday's victory. Williams is averaging 26.7 points on 50 percent shooting in three games as a starter after posting 17.1 points on 44.5 percent shooting in 16 games as a reserve.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Clippers G Austin Rivers is 8-of-35 from 3-point range over his last six games.

2. Jazz SG Rodney Hood (ankle) sat out Tuesday's game and is day-to-day.

3. Griffin scored 22 points in a 102-84 win at home over Utah on Oct. 24.

PREDICTION: Jazz 102, Clippers 91