LOS ANGELES _ If anything, the Los Angeles Clippers have concluded over the last two days, they can't let the Utah Jazz be the sole instigators of all the action in their first-round playoff series.
"The point is we have to join in," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Monday. "They're still going to do what they do. They should. That's who they are. But we didn't do what we usually do. So when you have two teams who are both trying to instigate action, it's a better game. It's a better game for us. I don't know if we can take it away from them. I think we just have to do it ourselves."
Undoubtedly, the first provocation wasn't delivered by the Clippers, who are down 1-0 to the Jazz in the best-of-seven series that resumes Tuesday night at Staples Center.
Rivers knows how his team can initiate things.
"Just hitting first. Engaging first," he said. "I thought they engaged first in everything. They blew up a lot of our dribble handoffs _ a lot of things where we just went to the ball instead of engaging them and getting into it first. It's simple, but you have to do it."
