by Alma Bean
Feature Image by Rick Egan of AP Photo
The Utah Jazz (7-14) takes on the Los Angeles Clippers (10-10) in their single game homestand.
Do They Know It’s Jazz Basketball
Starting off the game, Kawhi Leonard (41/5/5) looked as if he wanted to send a message to Utah early. Shooting 5/6 (83.3%) from the field including 2/2 (100%) from the perimeter, it didn’t matter who was in front of him, the ball was going in. Even with Keyonte George (15 points and 3 assists) making a very difficult perimeter shot to get a four-point play, Utah could find an answer for Los Angeles. Though their shooting numbers weren’t terrible for their standards this season, shooting 9/20 (45%) from the field, Los Angeles behind Leonard finished the quarter with a 32-26 lead.
The second quarter looked as if there was going to be a SportsCenter Top-10 play in the works. About 30 seconds into the quarter, Russell Westbrook (5/5/2) attempted to put Walker Kessler (8/12/3) on a poster, but Kessler put Westbrook on the wrong side of the highlight finishing with the block. After that block, Los Angeles stayed away from the paint till halftime shooting just three shots in the paint for the quarter, putting a larger emphasis on their perimeter shooting. Los Angeles shot 5/12 (41.7%) from the perimeter while Utah tried to follow suit but shot a disastrous 0/9 (0%). With Utah struggling to find shots, Los Angeles pulled away with the lead going into the half, 59-46.
O Come, O Come, A Utah Win
With the first half being less than stellar for Utah, they came out the locker room swinging to start the third quarter. Utah began the quarter on an 11-5 run led by John Collins (20/13/2), Simone Fontecchio (8 points and 2 rebounds) and George from beyond the arc. Those were the only perimeter shots from Utah in the third quarter as Los Angeles forced them to earn their points in the paint. Ivica Zubac (18/12/3) was such a menace on the defensive end that Kessler ended up having the most playing he has had this season with 31 minutes, just to keep up with Zubac. Even with Los Angeles struggling to shoot in the quarter, shooting 11/21 (52.4%) from the field and 3/8 (37.5%) from the perimeter, Utah still trailed 88-75 at the end of the third.
Going into the fourth quarter, the game felt a little out of hand with the miscommunication and visual frustrations seen on the bench for Utah. That all changed once Collin Sexton (13/3/3) put his head down and put Utah on his back. Getting back-to-back assists from Talen Horton-Tucker (15/1/5) that resulted in five points for Sexton, the Delta Center felt as if it were about to explode. Unfortunately, Paul George (20/3/2) wouldn’t allow Utah to rally back as he shot 4/4 (100%) from the field accounting for 10 of Los Angeles’ 29 points for the quarter. Utah managed to pull with six points in the fourth quarter, but Utah’s 46 bench points weren’t enough as Los Angeles leaves with the 117-103 win.
What’s Next
Utah will go on the road to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder for a one-game road trip.
The Hive Sports 
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