The Los Angeles Clippers lost their All-Star point guard Chris Paul this past summer, but that doesn't seem to bother them so far this season. The Clippers opened up the season with two straight wins, and on Tuesday night they were looking for their third in a row. They hosted the Utah Jazz in front of a sellout crowd of around 17,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Utah, on the other hand, entered this matchup with a 2-1 record. The Clippers played without their backup point guard Milos Teodosic in this one due to injury, while the Jazz were without the injured Rodney Hood and Dante Exum.
Wire to wire win for Doc Rivers' team
The home team started off great on Tuesday, outscoring Utah 27-20 in the first 12 minutes of the game. The Jazz regained the lead midway through the second quarter at 34-31, but at halftime, the Clippers were in front 42-41. It was in the third quarter of this game when the Clippers ran away with this one. They outscored the away squad 33-15 in the third quarter and held a 75-56 lead heading into the final period of the game. Doc Rivers' team had no trouble in keeping that lead to the end, as they ended up with a convincing, 102-84 victory.
Five players finished in double-digit scoring for the Clippers on Tuesday night. Blake Griffin led the way with 22 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Patrick Beverley added 19 points and five assists, while DeAndre Jordan finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds.
For the Jazz, it was their rookie Donovan Mitchell who led them in scoring with 19 points. Rudy Gobert finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Thabo Sefolosha added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Utah.
McCollum leads Portland past the Pelicans
The Portland Trail Blazers hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night in the NBA. The home team opened up the game with a great first quarter, outscoring the Pelicans 29-19 in the first period. New Orleans bounced back in the second quarter, as they outscored Portland 29-18 in the period and regained the lead at 48-47 at halftime.
Teams went back and forth in the third quarter, but the Pelicans were still in front 73-71 heading into the final 12 minutes of the game. The Trail Blazers closed out the game with an impressive 32 points in the fourth quarter and ended up with a 103-93 win.
C.J. McCollum led the way for the home squad with 23 points and four rebounds in 36 minutes of playing time. Damian Lillard added 13 points and seven assists, while Jusuf Nurkic finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds for Portland.
DeMarcus Cousins led all scorers in this game with 39 points on 12-of-23 shooting. He also added 13 rebounds and three assists for the Pelicans. Jrue Holiday contributed with 14 points and seven assists.
