SALT LAKE CITY — It isn’t a cliche to say that the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers have reached a juncture where every game counts. Plenty is at
stake when the two teams clash in Salt Lake City on Thursday night.
Utah (45-33) has won three straight and is a half-game up on San Antonio for fourth place in the Western Conference after the Spurs dropped an overtime
decision to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz need to keep winning to clinch that
top four seed and earn homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA
playoffs.
The Clippers (42-36) trail New Orleans by two games for the final playoff spot. They need more wins and a little help elsewhere to keep their season going
beyond next week.
For Utah
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after edging the Los Angeles Lakers 117-110.
It wasn’t a simple task. The Lakers shot 48.6 percent from the field overall and made 14 3-pointers. Utah needed 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting from Ricky
Rubio — his fifth career 30-point game — to outlast them.
The Jazz struggled with everything from closing out on shooters to stopping transition baskets. It left coach Quin Snyder unhappy with the effort he
witnessed.
“Our focus needs to be: be better,” Snyder said. “All I’ve heard is the playoffs and we’re in the playoffs. We’re not in the playoffs. There’s no x next
to our name in the standings
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Perimeter defense has been a major issue in recent games for the Jazz. Seven of Utah’s last 10 opponents have shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range.
Four have shot better than 50 percent from long distance.
The Lakers shot 13-of-21 from 3-point range through three quarters before finally going 1-of-7 over the final 12 minutes. It let Los Angeles hang around
and made the Jazz sweat out a win.
“I don’t think for us it should be hard,” Utah guard Donovan Mitchell said. “We kind of did this to ourselves a little bit. I think the biggest thing with
us is being able to come out strong.”
The Clippers picked up a critical 113-110 victory over San Antonio on Tuesday night to keep their playoff hopes alive. Los Angeles rallied in the fourth
quarter against the Spurs
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the way with 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting.
It snapped a two-game losing streak for Los Angeles. One reason for it is the Clippers showed marked improvement in getting to the free throw line and making
free throws. They went 34-of-43 from the line against the Spurs after making
31-of-49 free throws combined in losses to Portland and Indiana.
The Clippers also closed strong in the fourth quarter against San Antonio after falling victim to a final quarter rally against the Pacers.
Los Angeles could be a little short-handed Thursday. Danilo Gallinari sat out Tuesday with a sore right hand and it’s doubtful he will be available agaunst
the Jazz. Gallinari has appeared in only 21 games this season because of
injuries.
“It’s day by day,” Gallinari told the Los Angeles Times. “I will go with the team to Utah
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Utah has won two of the first three meetings this season. The Jazz beat the Clippers 125-113 on Jan. 20 in the most recent encounter. Utah never trailed and
was powered by 23 points from Mitchell and 21 points from Joe Ingles.
Los Angeles fell short despite 31 points, seven assists and a franchise-record 10 steals from Williams. He became the first player in NBA
history to have 30 points
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