The Utah Jazz made a statement in Los Angeles, pulling away late in the fourth quarter against the Clippers to secure an impressive 120-107 win at STAPLES Center.
Donovan Mitchell led the way with 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, shooting 13-of-23 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.
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Today's effort was Mitchell's 34th career 30-point game, now trailing only Karl Malone (44) for most 30-point games . for a Jazz player in their first three seasons, per StatMuse.
Six Jazz players scored in double figures on the night with Jordan Clarkson adding 19 points off the bench in just his second game after being traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 17 points, Rudy Gobert 12 and Royce O'neale 11, while Aussie Joe Ingles continued his recent run of form, finishing with 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds as the Jazz win picked up their seventh win from their past eight games.
Joe Ingles is averaging 16/5/6 on 54/54/93 shooting since being put in the starting lineup (11 games).
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 29, 2019
The Jazz are 8-3 in that span. pic.twitter.com/xFP1Oe3OKA
With the Jazz leading 109-107 with 3:35 remaining in the fourth quarter, they exploded on an 11-0 run, with Mitchell scoring six and Bogdanovic scoring five to seal the win.
🇦🇺 @Joeingles7 and the @utahjazz secure an impressive 120-107 win over the @LAClippers on the road! #TakeNote
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) December 29, 2019
📊: 15 PTS | 8 AST | 6 REB | 5 3PM pic.twitter.com/HVWIrs6s59
Paul George led the Clippers with 20 points and 10 rebounds, on 6-of-20 from the field, while Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and six assists on 6-of-24 from the field. The pair combined to shoot 5-of-17 from the three-point line.
"I didn't think our execution offensively was very good tonight, but I thought it was a lot of what Utah was doing, I thought they were the more physical team," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said post-game.
"I thought they blew up our pick-and-rolls, our pindowns the entire night. I thought they were the more physical team and that usually is where the winner comes out."
The Clippers just couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch and were held to just 4-of-20 (25%) shooting for the entire fourth quarter.
Correction: Patrick Beverley’s right wrist. Beverley would not field questions afterwards about his injury. https://t.co/khX2gexwiU
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) December 29, 2019
Patrick Beverley exited the game in the third quarter after taking a hard fall on a layup attempt, injuring his wrist. He returned in the fourth and despite X-Rays coming back negative, he could be set to miss time.
The Clippers will re-group when they take on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, while the Jazz will host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
