NBA Playoff Recap: June 12, 2021

Los Angeles Clippers 132, Utah Jazz 106

Jazz lead series 2-1

I’m not surprised to see the Los Angeles Clippers found a way to get their first win of this series. Despite their setbacks in Salt Lake City, this team is more than capable of competing with the Jazz. This victory keeps them out of the 0-3 hole, and gets them back in position to contend for advancement to the conference finals.

The biggest keys to LA’s victory was their defense and 2-point shooting. Defensively, the Clippers handily won the turnover battle, forcing 16 while only conceding nine. Those takeaways converted into 24 points for LA, while their giveaways turned into just 16 points.

The Clippers’ finest work occurred in the second quarter, when they forced four turnovers without giving up any of their own. They held the 2-8 turnover advantage and 13-3 points-off-turnover advantage by halftime.

Offensively, both teams made 19 3-pointers and Utah edged out Los Angeles in made free throws 15-13. Instead, the biggest contributor to LA’s blowout win was their proficiency inside the arc. The Clippers outscored the Jazz in 2-point shooting 62-34! Naturally, they won the paint battle 44-32. However, LA also went 9-of-13 from the mid-range compared to Utah’s 1-of-5.

The Clippers worked out several ways to attack the paint while keeping Gobert from getting directly involved, including drawing him out and then driving past or passing around him. There were also plenty of instances when Derrick Favors was in for Rudy where the Clips fearlessly blitzed the key. LA knew they couldn’t win a shootout with Utah, so they had to be clever with how they scored inside. In Game 3, the plan went swimmingly.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George had huge games for the Clippers, and deserve their props for it. The duo combined for 65 points; Leonard with 34 points and George with 31 and six 3-pointers. Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum also chipped in 17 points each.

Donovan Mitchell also had a great game, dropping 30 points with five 3-pointers. He basically did it in just two and a half quarters. Mitchell was held scoreless in the first and left the game due to an ankle injury with 7:04 left in the fourth. Outside of Joe Ingles (19 points, five 3-pointers), the rest of his Jazz teammates couldn’t quite find the same rhythm to keep pace with the Clippers.