by Daniel Olsen
After winning 20 of their last 21 in the year 2021, it’s safe to say the Jazz are a different team this year. Last year, they dealt with injuries, mixing new faces in the offense, and losing a 3-1 lead. That changed as the Jazz kept the momentum going en route to a 114-96 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
While it’s true that the Clippers were missing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, that doesn’t take away from what Utah was able to do. The Jazz were without Mike Conley, but at this point they are so deep that it wasn’t a problem.
Donovan Mitchell led the way with 24 points and a pair of seven assists and rebounds. While he struggled to hit a shot by his standards, he still found a way to involve others in the game. The pesky defender Patrick Beverley was harassing him most of the night. Mitchell also had a team high four steals to add to his value on the defensive end.
Gobert recorded an impressive 23 rebounds and 20 points. It’s the second time in his career that he has recorded at least 20 points and as many rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers. The last time he did it was on January 16, 2019. In that game, Gobert had 23 points and 22 rebounds.
In 33 minutes, Clarkson had 18 points off the bench. That is right around his season average. He is still looking like one of the top candidates for Sixth Man of the Year. Look for Clarkson to keep it up.
While Royce O’Neale had just 12 points, he also had a team high eight assists. Joe Ingles had the best shooting percent from the field of any of the Jazz starters. He made five of seven with three of the four coming from beyond the arc.
The Jazz will play the Clippers again on Friday night in front of a national audience. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Game Notes
• The Jazz have four of the top six NBA leaders in total plus/minus this season.
• This is the sixth straight game in which Donovan Mitchell has scored at least 20 points.
• After trailing by five at half, the Jazz outscored the Clippers 68 to 45 in the second half.
• With the win, the Jazz are a perfect 3-0 on the season against the teams from the state of California. They also beat the Clippers on New Years Day and the Warriors on January 23, 2021.
• The Jazz are the only team from the Northwest Division to defeat the Clippers so far this season.
• Rudy Gobert recorded his fourth career game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.
• The Jazz have now beaten 20 of their 24 opponents by double-digits. Follow StatMuse to see our credited tweet and more fun stats involving the NBA and other sports.
Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images