by Daniel Olsen |
Mike Conley doesn’t always have a great shooting night but when he does, it’s against the Clippers. He led the game with 33 points in a 106-100 victory as the Jazz started the 2021 calendar year on the right note.
Conley tied a career high with seven threes in the win as his stroke was unbreakable on New Years Day. The icing on the cake was a brilliant pass by Donovan Mitchell that looked like it was going to Rudy Gobert but landed in Conley’s pathway on the right corner.
The Jazz had a brilliant defensive outing as they tied their lowest points allowed of the season. Gobert’s double-double streak came to an end as he was just one rebound shy from recording another one.
Mitchell’s shooting woes continued as he was only 30 percent from three and 42.9 percent from the field. However, it’s a team sport and his teammates stepped up when their names were called. Mitchell was still the second highest scorer on the team with 15 points. The big three of Mitchell, Gobert and Conley combined for 60 of the team’s 106 points. Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors each had double-digit scoring outputs off the bench.
The Jazz spread the scoring pie fairly evenly but Conley had the lion’s share. They had the ball moving freely again as they recorded a season high 28 assists. While they only made 15 of their 42 three-point attempts, they were still getting plenty of open looks. Conley was the only one on fire as he made half of his attempts from downtown.
Game Notes:
• Whole Note: The Jazz have now defeated the Clippers in three out of the last four matchups. On October 30, 2019, Mike Conley went off in a 29 point performance against them in a 110-96 victory the last time they faced the Clippers in Salt Lake City.
• Half Note: The Jazz went into halftime ahead 51-42 which is the first time they lead at the half since the season opener. They are 2-0 on the season when leading at the half and 1-2 when trailing. They trailed OKC slightly at the break before coming back in a thriller.
• Quarter Note: The Jazz scored 33 points in the third quarter against the Clippers which has been their best quarter this season. Their scoring average per quarter is as follows:
1st quarter: 26.8
2nd quarter: 24.8
3rd quarter: 30.6
4th quarter: 26.2
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Featured image by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images