Clippers at Jazz
The Utah Jazz tend to thrive in lower-scoring games, but that formula has not proven successful against the Los Angeles Clippers, their opponent at home Monday night. The Clippers took the first two meetings while holding the Jazz to 75 and 72 points, respectively, two of Utah's three worst offensive showings all season.
"They had a lot more resolve in their defensive end than we did on our offensive end," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told the media after the previous matchup, an 88-72 loss at home in February. "If we were to make a couple shots, it would have just masked the fact that we didn't have any toughness on the offensive end in order to execute." Utah scored at least 100 points in eight of 10 games since then, but it didn't have enough on the defensive end in a 112-104 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday. Coupled with the Clippers' 112-100 victory over Philadelphia - their fourth triumph in five games - the Jazz saw their lead over Los Angeles for fourth place in the Western Conference reduced to one game. Chris Paul, who was sidelined in the previous encounter with Utah, scored a season-high 30 points in the win over the 76ers.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), ROOT Rocky Mountain (Utah)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (40-26): Paul hit 4-of-4 3-point tries in Saturday's win and has been on target from long range since his return from thumb surgery last month - making 23-of-43 triples in nine games - but he only cares about what's coming down the road. "All this stuff really don't mean much until you get to the playoffs," Paul told reporters. "We're trying to jockey for position right now. You beat Philly on a Saturday afternoon at 12:30 and that don't really have nothing to do with who you match up with in the playoffs. It's all about what you're building with your team, that identity. That's what is going to carry over into the playoffs." That identity has to involve a dominant DeAndre Jordan, who had 19 points and 20 rebounds against Philadelphia and is making 75 percent from the field since the All-Star break.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (41-25): Snyder's team won four straight before visiting Oklahoma City but he switched gears in a hurry when the wheels were falling off against the Thunder, removing his under-performing starters in the third quarter. That opened up an opportunity for reserve guard Dante Exum, who scored a career-high 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting in 26 minutes. "We just kept playing," Exum told reporters. "We brought the energy."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers PF Blake Griffin is averaging 22 points on 56.3 percent and 10 rebounds against Utah this season.
2. Jazz SG Alec Burks is averaging 13.7 points in 18.3 minutes in his last three games.
3. The Clippers claimed four straight meetings overall.