by Alma Bean
Feature Image: Photo by Ronald Martinez of Getty Images
The Utah Jazz (7-3) faced the Los Angeles Clippers (5-4) to wrap up their three-game road trip.
After a win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Utah is looking to finish their road trip with a positive record. Before tip-off, Utah received some bad news involving their starting lineup. Starting center Jarred Vanderbilt, who had soreness in his right adductor (hip), was downgraded from questionable to out. This had Utah adjust their starting lineup for just the second time this season. Coach Will Hardy decided that Malik Beasley would receive his first start in a Jazz uniform.
Nice Warm Welcome
Right after tip-off, a strange yet effective defensive assignment made itself known. Lauri Markkanen had the tough assignment of defending Paul George. George scored 15 points in the first quarter, but eight of those points came while Markkanen was off the floor. Markkanen’s defense caused George to turn the ball over twice in the quarter as well. Though the quarter belonged to George, the score at the end of the quarter was tied 29-29.
The second quarter made it seem like a miss would be a rarity within the arc. Utah went 11/15 (73.3%) while shooting an impressive 10/21 (47.6%) from beyond the arc. With impressive shooting gracing Utah, Los Angeles continued to put them at the free-throw line. Utah shot 11/12 (91.7%) from the line to add to their breathtaking shooting. Jordan Clarkson seemed like he wanted to take things into his own hands. Finished the half with 17 points while going 4/5 (80%) from three. His performance propelled Utah to a 63-56 lead going into the half.
(3) Utah Jazz on Twitter: “😵💫 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 😵💫 https://t.co/owLcTEi7Ai” / Twitter
It’s Always Sunny in California
Utah looked to have lost sight of defensive intensity in the third quarter. For nearly half of the third, Marcus Morris Sr. was the center of Los Angeles’ offense. Whether he was facilitating the ball or making shots, Morris had made his contribution. Scoring seven points in the quarter before missing three straight perimeter shots, felt like Utah wanted him to score. The third did bring some great pursuit from Mike Conley. Conley managed to have more rebounds than assists and continued to be a pest on defense. This valiant effort was overshadowed by a Los Angeles 85-84 lead to end the quarter.
(3) Utah Jazz on Twitter: “lose the ball. get it back. #TakeNote https://t.co/8iXQ27nIon” / Twitter
As the game was coming to a close, turnovers seemed to linger over Utah. Utah committed 20 turnovers throughout the game while Los Angeles didn’t do much better with 13. Without Vanderbilt’s presence in the paint, Los Angeles continued to dominate in the paint offensively. Where Utah made the difference is with their bench. Collin Sexton managed to make this game personal. This game marks Sexton’s eleventh game of the season, this time last year Sexton had his season-ending knee injury. Sexton made some aggressive plays that looked like he was putting himself back in harm’s way, yet he scored 22 points. With his relentless effort along with the spread offense from Utah, they finish their three-game road trip with a 110-102 win.
What’s Next?
The Utah Jazz travels back home to Salt Lake City for a quick pitstop to have an early rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers. Tip-off will be at 8:15 PM MST on AT&T SportsNet.