Utah Jazz See Winning Streak Snapped With Close Loss To Clippers

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz watched their winning streak end at nine games with a close road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Los Angeles hosted Utah at Staples Center on Friday, February 19.

Loss in La La Land

The Jazz ended up falling, 116-112.

It’s Utah’s first loss since January 31 and only the third defeat of 2021.

no quit in this one. pic.twitter.com/0Xl6W1PmWU

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 20, 2021

Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 35 points on 12-27 shooting. He also had four rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the loss.

How It Happened

Utah came out flat and didn’t look like the team that beat Los Angeles two days earlier.

Mitchell committed a pair of fouls during the opening six minutes of action and sat on the pine until the second quarter.

Mike Conley returned to the court after missing Utah’s last six games. The veteran scored seven of the team’s first nine points of the game.

Guess who's back, back again. @MCONLEY10’s back, tell a friend. 🎶 #TakeNote #UTAatLAChttps://t.co/0yFs4GANI0

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 20, 2021

On a minutes restriction, Conley finished with 16 points in 25 minutes.

At the end of the first 12 minutes, the Jazz trailed by eight points.

Donovan Mitchell had Paul George on skates. 👀⛸ #TakeNote #UTAatLAC https://t.co/IJpS688zSn

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 20, 2021

Utah started to find a rhythm in the second quarter but L.A. owned a 57-49 advantage at the halftime break.

Mitchell and the Jazz got things rolling in the third quarter and came back to take the lead. The fourth-year guard scored 12 points in the quarter and helped the Jazz outscore the Clippers by four points.

plays that make your face go 😠 pic.twitter.com/CAN9s3RKIa

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 20, 2021

In the fourth quarter, Mitchell showed his All-Star prowess.

After the Jazz allowed the Clippers to take a double-digit lead late, Mitchell propelled a spectacular finish.

Spida Slam 🕷💪

Donovan Mitchell with an impressive slam dunk against the Clippers.#TakeNote #UTAatLAC https://t.co/lQInXMDVhv

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 20, 2021

Utah trailed by 13 points with 2:29 left to play before going on a 10-1 run. The Jazz were behind 108-104 with 25.8 seconds to go.

Ultimately, the Jazz weren’t able to see enough three-pointers go in, enough Los Angles foul shots missed, and enough time remaining on the clock to pull out a victory.

Jazz were +8 in the third quarter with Donovan Mitchell on the floor and -4 the final 2:55 after he subbed out.

Going to be interesting to see how well the Jazz survive the non-Mitchell minutes here in the fourth.

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) February 20, 2021

Mitchell scored 17 points in the final quarter, including 12 points in the last 1:23 of game time.

LOOK AT THESE pic.twitter.com/NKdWpLBaYZ

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 20, 2021

Supporting Cast

Bojan Bogdanovic finished as Utah’s second-leading scorer with 23 points. He buried four triples.

Rudy Gobert fell short of a double-double with eight points, 15 boards, and three blocks.

Jazz sixth man Jordan Clarkson led the second unit with 19 points.

Utah ended the game shooting 47.7 percent from the field. The Jazz struggled to connect on three-pointers for much of the game and finished 12-34 for 35.3 percent beyond the arc.

This is the type of game that gives you an idea of what you need to look for on the buyout market.

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) February 20, 2021

Clippers at full strength

After missing Wednesday’s game against Utah, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George returned for Los Angeles.

Leonard, who was named an NBA All-Star game starter a day earlier, had 29 points to lead the Clippers.

George added 15 points.

The Clippers end the Jazz's nine-game win streak 😎 pic.twitter.com/u9T0gtkYd0

— ESPN (@espn) February 20, 2021

The Clippers shot 48.3 percent overall and 33.3 percent from distance.

Los Angeles is 16-3 this season when both Leonard and George play.

Up Next

With the loss, the Jazz moved to a record of 24-6 on the season. Utah is one of three NBA teams without double-digit losses. They still own the league’s best record and are two games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference standings.

Utah’s next game is against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, February 22 at 7 p.m. (MDT).

The game will broadcast on AT&T SportsNet and 97.5 FM.