LOS ANGELES – The Clippers had a chance to tie late but fell to the Jazz, 96-94, at home Monday night.
Here are five takeaways:
1) Turnovers costly – The Clippers forced 21 turnovers while committing only 14 of their own, but it was the timing of those turnovers that mattered most for both teams. Utah led by a point with the ball and 11 seconds left before throwing the ball out of bounds, giving the Clippers a chance to win it with a final possession. But the Clippers did the same thing, as Jamal Crawford lost the ball at the other end on an otherwise noteworthy quarter for the reigning Sixth Man of the year. Crawford entered the fourth quarter with just two points but finished with 16.
2) Strong out the break – After a slow start, the Clippers started to gain some life late in the second quarter, then took off out of the halftime break. A 5-0 run late in the second quarter extended into a 16-0 run by early in the third, with plenty of help from Marreese Speights, who helped energize the group on both ends. While known for his offense, Speights drew two charges and blocked two shots in the game. The Clippers outscored the Jazz by 10 points in the third, after which most of the starters’ nights were over.
3) Speights keeps scoring – Speights could very well end up the best offensive big the Clippers have had off the bench in years, as he continued to show Monday night. Speights had six points in his first seven minutes, knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Clippers the lead heading to the fourth quarter and ended up with 14 points in 12 minutes.
4) Blake back – Blake Griffin’s range has been a subject throughout training camp, as he’s extended his shot all the way out to the perimeter. On Monday, though, it was what most people are used to seeing from Griffin that might’ve been most notable. He was as energetic and explosive as he’s been at any point since returning from his quad injury, which was most evident on a spin move along the baseline leading to a reverse jam. Later, he went diving into the bench to save a ball. The Clippers gained possession, and Griffin ended it with two of his 13 points. Head coach Doc Rivers said before the game how good Griffin’s looked.
“It’s amazing how well he’s playing and moving,” Rivers said. “It’s like he didn’t miss last year. For a lot of guys, it takes a while. You come back. He’s been amazing to me.”
5) Kryptonite – The only thing that stopped Griffin was foul trouble. He dominated early in third quarter, scoring seven points with two rebounds and an assist in fewer than six minutes, but picked up his fifth foul with more than six minutes left in the quarter. That ended the night early for him.
NOTES Alan Anderson earned his first start at small forward, surrounded by the normal four starters … The Clippers (1-2) hadn’t trailed since the third quarter before Chris Johnson hit free throws with 30 seconds left to give Utah the lead … The Clippers continued to try staggering different starters with the backups, and this time it was Chris Paul getting minutes with the reserves late in the third and early in the fourth quarter … The Clippers play again Thursday against Portland
Rowan Kavner, Clippers.com