Kawhi Leonard pumped in 29 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 116-112 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Friday night, February 19 (Saturday, February 20, Philippine time).
Lou Williams scored 19 points and Marcus Morris chipped in 17 off the bench for the Clippers. Patrick Beverley also scored 17. Paul George added 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Los Angeles (22-9) beat the Jazz for the first time in 3 meetings this season.
Donovan Mitchell fired 35 points to lead Utah, who had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 23 points and Jordan Clarkson chipped in 19 off the bench. Mike Conley scored 16 points.
The Jazz (24-6) lost for just the second time in their last 22 games.
With Leonard and George back in action, the Clippers set an aggressive tone on both ends of the floor in the first half. They shot 51% from the floor and held Utah in check on the perimeter.
Los Angeles carved out a double-digit lead in the 2nd quarter, going up 47-33 after Williams and Reggie Jackson hit back-to-back threes to spark a 15-7 run.
Jackson also assisted back-to-back baskets from Beverley and Serge Ibaka that capped the run.
Mitchell rallied the Jazz early in the 3rd quarter. He hit a pair of free throws and made 4 baskets to fuel an 18-4 run that put Utah up 67-63. Mitchell capped off the run by draining a three-pointer and then, after stealing the ball, feeding Bogdanovic for another outside basket.
Los Angeles regained a 79-75 lead heading into the 4th quarter after Leonard and Williams combined for baskets over 3 straight possessions.
Utah closed to within 94-92 on a dunk from Mitchell before the Clippers pulled away for good. Beverley scored three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cap a 13-2 run that gave Los Angeles a 107-94 lead with 2:28 remaining.
The Jazz cut the deficit to a basket, 112-110, with 13.0 seconds left on back-to-back triples from Mitchell. Beverley sealed the win on a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining. – Rappler.com
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