After an exciting Game 1 on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz met again on Tuesday night. It was Game 2 of this first-round Western Conference playoff series. Utah took Game 1 on a game-winning, last-second shot by Joe Johnson, therefore it was a "must win" situation for the Clippers on Tuesday night at Staples Center. Utah played without starting center Rudy Gobert who suffered a knee injury early in Game 1. Los Angeles was without Austin Rivers who is out due to a muscle injury.
Important win for Doc Rivers' squad
It was a game that the Clippers had to win in order to stay alive in this postseason.
They had an 11-point lead after the first quarter as they played great defense and allowed Utah to score just 18 points in that first period. The "Big Three" of Griffin, Jordan and Paul combined for 10-of-13 shooting and six rebounds in the first, and the Clippers shot 65 percent from the field. They maintained a solid lead throghout the second quarter and at halftime it was 51-42 for the home team. Utah managed to cut that lead down to three-points (55-52) early in the third quarter but that would be the closest they would come. It was 79-70 for LA after the third. The Jazz never led in the game and got no closer than six points in the fourth. The final score was 99-91 for the Clippers team, who out-rebounded the Jazz 39-33.
They finished with 26 team assists and shot 52.4% from the field. The Clippers piled up 60 points in the paint while Utah had just 38.
Griffin led all scorers with 24 points
Blake Griffin was the leading scorer on Tuesday night. He finished the game with 24 points and added five rebounds. Chris Paul scored 21 points to go along with 10 assists, while DeAndre Jordan finished with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Jordan was efficient shooting the ball, with only two misses on the night (9-11). The "Big Three" of Griffin, Paul and Jordan combined for 63 of the team's 99 points.
After the game Chris Paul talked to the media: "I think we moved the ball great. We just tried to keep the pace and the tempo up. For me it's about executing our gameplan."
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz in scoring with 20 points but he was just 5-15 from the field.
He added six rebounds and two assists also. Derrick Favors helped with 13 points and seven rebounds. Joe Johnson came off the bench and chipped in with 13 points but it wasn't enough.
Both teams will look to take a 2-1 lead on Friday night, when Game 3 takes place in Salt Lake City.
