The Clippers lock up the No. 4 seed despite losing to the Jazz 110-109
Los Angeles Clippers #5 Bones (G) Hyland gliding to the basket for a layup. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles Clippers (51-30) before tip-off, clinched the #4 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs and will host the first round of the playoffs despite losing to the Utah Jazz (31-50) at the Crypto.com Arena 110-109 after the Dallas Mavericks loss to the Detroit Pistons 107-89 earlier today.
The starting lineup for the Clippers, Paul George 10 points, Terance Mann 5 points, James Harden 4 points, Ivica Zuback 10 points, and TJ Tucker, only played the first quarter against the Jazz.
Tyronn Lue, the Clippers head coach, had the luxury of resting the starters and allowing more for Kawhi Leonard (inflammation right knee) to get healthy and having one of the best benches in the NBA, with Bones Hyland scoring 20 points, Amir Coffey 16 points, and Daniel Theis 14 points, the sky is the limit for this team.
"Getting the fourth seed in a tough conference — you got four teams that won 50 games — it means a lot to have the homecourt advantage in the first round," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "Winning our (Pacific) division for the first time in 10 years says a lot about just staying with it even through tough times."
The Clippers led 11-4 in the first quarter with a three-pointer by Paul George in front of the Jazz’s bench. Terance Mann would give the Clippers a 15-4 lead after following Paul George's missed three-pointer with a two-handed put-back dunk that ignited the crowd.
Utah trail 21-14 with a layup by Talen Horton-Tucker. The Clippers led by eleven points, 29-18, with a jump shot by Russell Westbrook. Ivica Zubac, with a left-hand hook shot, had the Clippers leading 31-22.
Norman Powell would drive down the baseline from the left side of the court to go up for a reverse layup on the right side of the basket to give the Clippers a 35-23 lead. The Clippers would lead 38-27 at the end of the quarter.
Utah Jazz #34 Kenneth Lofton Jr. (F) shooting a three-pointer at the top of the key. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
The Jazz would make a run in the second quarter to trail 45-44 with a jump shot by Kenneth Lofton Jr. Utah got their first lead of the game, 48-47, with a pull-up jump shot by Taylor Hendricks.
The Clippers were down 53-50 after Luka Samanic from the Jazz knocked down a jump shot from the right side of the court. Daniel Theis crashed the boards with an offensive rebound, and with a layup, the Clippers were down 59-56.
Kenyonte George would lose the ball into the backcourt, and Hyland would run downcourt for a layup that had the Clippers trailing at halftime 61-60.
Hyland would lead the Clippers in scoring at halftime with 12 points, followed by George and Zubac, each with 10 points, and Amir Coffey with 7 points.
The Clippers trail 69-60 in the third quarter after Keyonte George passed the ball to his teammate Taylor Hendrick for a monster dunk. Hyland would pull up for a three-pointer to have the Clippers trailing 71-65.
The Clippers would cut the Jazz lead down to just three points, 84-81, thanks to a three-pointer by Kobe Brown. Utah led at the end of the third quarter 86-85.
Los Angeles Clippers #7 Amir Coffey’s (G/F) three-point shot infrom of the Utah Jazz’s bench. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
Utah led by two points in the fourth quarter, 92-90, after Amir Coffey pulled up for a three-pointer from the left side of the basket. The Clippers tied the game 96-96 with a basket by Daniel Theis.
Kenneth Lofton Jr. would give the Jazz a four-point lead, 104-100 after his jump shot was good from the top of the key. Hyland would pass the ball to Boston Jr. for a jump shot, and the Clippers now trail 110-109 with 31 seconds left in the game.
The Clippers had a chance to win the game at the end, but Xavier Moon side-step a Utah defender to take a three-point shot that missed the mark, and the Jazz escaped with the road win. Lofton Jr. led Utah in scoring 27 points, and George with 14 points.