At first glance, the mismatch could not have been more clear.
Taking a pass near the left block early in Wednesday’s first quarter, Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic backed into Lou Williams, a Clippers guard who was three years older, 7 inches shorter and has never carried the reputation of a stingy defender.
But the easy basket never came. Williams waited for Bogdanovic’s third dribble, then poked away a steal. He would wind up with the open look — a layup after weaving through two defenders on the other end.
NBA games are won over 48 minutes, not 10-second stretches, yet the moment encapsulated a night inside Staples Center when Utah’s obvious mismatch over a Clippers team missing three starters plus another reserve took longer to materialize than anyone would have suspected at first glance.
Without the injured Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Nicolas Batum or Luke Kennard, the walking wounded Clippers led by one after the first quarter, five at halftime and trailed by just six after three quarters. What seemed an inevitable Jazz victory wasn’t secured until late in the fourth quarter after a 27-10 Utah run became a 114-96 victory.
Lou Williams scored a game-high 16 points for the Clippers while Donovan Mitchell scored 24 to lead Utah.
Five takeaways from Utah’s 20th victory in its past 21 games, a game that ended the Clippers’ four-game winning streak:
1. Disrupting the Jazz
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue didn’t see this game as a litmus test for how his team stacked up against the Western Conference’s top team. The absences of three starters made that point moot. He did see it, however, as another opportunity to gauge his team’s mettle.
They’d already beaten Miami two nights before without three starters. Could they summon a similar grit? “We know they’re the best team record-wise, but you know that’s not gonna stop us from playing,” Lue said before tipoff. “And with guys being out, nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us. So we’re up for the challenge.”
By that measure, the Clippers passed, disrupting the comfort of Utah — who played without Mike Conley — for an entire first half by largely taking away their 3-point opportunities. The Jazz, who attempt a league-leading 42 3-pointers this season, had taken just 17 in the first half, making only five.
2. Disruptor in chief
One of the chief reasons was the intensity of Patrick Beverley. His block of Mitchell in the first quarter was just one of several instances where Beverley kept the young star off-balance with his effort defensively.
3. Good news/bad news
For the Clippers, there were two ways to look at this game. Encouragement, that they’d hung close to the NBA’s hottest team without playing flawless basketball? Or disappointment that what turned the game into a rout were largely costly, avoidable mistakes that kept the Clippers from claiming what would have been their best victory of the season? The Clippers committed 18 turnovers that led to 21 points, and they missed six free throws.
4. Big difference
The Clippers (21-9) had no answer for the size of Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the early favorite for the league’s defensive player of the year. Through the first half, the center was the only Jazz starter to post a positive plus/minus. He’d finish with 23 points and 20 rebounds, but it was the way he froze the Clippers driving into the paint that altered not only shots but the Clippers’ ability to create a bigger lead than six.
5. A new Mann?
Clippers guard Terance Mann built his confidence in recent weeks off of his defense and rebounding, the hustle plays a second-year player without a reliable jump shot must master to gain a foothold in the rotation. But on this night, it was clear that confidence has bled into other areas of his game. He flicked a no-look pass to Amir Coffey for a corner 3-pointer and attacked the paint and pulled up for midrange jumpers en route to eight points off the bench.
______
