Hot 3-point shooting helps Jazz beat Clippers
SALT LAKE CITY - Gordon Hayward scored 27 points and hit four 3-pointers to lead the Utah Jazz to a 114-108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
George Hill added 19 points while Joe Ingles chipped in 18 points and Joe Johnson added 14 off the bench for the Jazz. Utah (42-25) earned its first victory of the season over Los Angeles.
Chris Paul scored a season-high 33 points while J.J. Redick added 16 points and Austin Rivers chipped in 15 for the Clippers. Los Angeles (40-27) fell two games behind Utah in the race for a top-four seed after failing to contain Utah from the perimeter.
The Jazz shot 11 of 12 from 3-point range after halftime and made 10 straight 3-pointers to open the half before finally missing one late in the fourth quarter.
After falling behind early, the Jazz used an 11-0 run to take a 13-10 lead in the first quarter. Rudy Gobert ignited the spurt by driving for a layup and gave Utah its first lead on his first dunk of the night.
The Clippers quickly rallied and retook a 20-15 lead behind back-to-back baskets from Paul. Gobert answered with back-to-back baskets on the next two Jazz possessions. Los Angeles pulled away again after Paul converted a 3-point play and buried a 3-pointer in transition, putting the Clippers up 26-19.
Los Angeles built up an eight-point lead six times in the second quarter, the final time on a step-back jumper from Redick that gave the Clippers a 50-42 lead.
Utah made all six 3-pointers it attempted in the quarter to finally close the gap and overtake the Clippers. The Jazz tied it at 63-63 after Boris Diaw drained an outside basket, and Hill promptly stole a pass from DeAndre Jordan and took it in for a layup. Los Angeles used a 9-0 run -- bookended by 3-pointers from Luc Mbah a Moute and Paul -- to surge back in front 72-63.
The Jazz closed the gap again on 3-pointers from Hill and Ingles. Utah finally took its first lead of the half on a fadeaway jumper from Joe Johnson and a pair of free throws from Dante Exum, going up 84-81 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.
Utah's hot shooting from the perimeter extended into the fourth quarter. The Jazz made four straight 3-pointers in the quarter before finally missing one. Exum and Hayward sank a one each on back-to-back possessions and Hayward added another a couple of minutes later to cap off the streak. It helped push Utah to a 105-92 lead with 5:28 remaining.
The Clippers cut it to 107-103 on a jumper from Blake Griffin with 2:03 left. Johnson answered with back-to-back baskets to keep Los Angeles from pulling closer.
NOTES: Jazz F Derrick Favors missed his third straight game with a left knee contusion. An MRI on Sunday night uncovered the contusion. Favors is out indefinitely. He has missed 20 games this season. ... Clippers C DeAndre Jordan has collected 20-plus rebounds in nine games this season - the most of any NBA player - and averages 13.6 rebounds per game. Jordan grabbed only seven rebounds against Utah. ... The Jazz averaged just 73.5 points per game in two previous losses to the Clippers this season. ... Jazz G George Hill matched his season high with eight rebounds. ... G Chris Paul had a season-high in points for the second consecutive game. ... Jazz C Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 10 rebounds to notch his 46th double-double of the season.