Clarkson, Conley, Markkanen struck a major chord as Jazz rout Clippers, 126-103
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Thu, 19 Jan 2023
The return of Lauri Markkanen was a welcome relief for Utah as they pummeled an undermanned Clippers, 126-103, on Wednesday.
On his return after a 2-game absence due to a bruised hip, Markkanen dropped 34 points, featuring 6 three-pointers, to go with 12 soul-sapping rebounds, fueling the Jazz to their first wire-to-wire victory this season. ‘The Finnisher’ posted his 11th 30-plus-point-game, scoring from near and afar capped by a tremendous dunk over LAC’s Ivica Zubac followed by a trey to push the Jazz ahead 78-62 in the third quarter.
Not to be outdone, the rest of Utah’s starters posted double-digit cards— Mike Conley dropped 17, followed by Filipino-American star Jordan Clarkson with 16, Malik Beasley and Walker Kessler 13 points apiece. Off the bench, Collin Sexton added 12, Jarred Vaderbilt 9, Nickeil Alexander Walker and Ochai 4 each, and Talen Horton-Tucker chipped in 2 points.
Jordan Clarkson, who is having an All-star-like season, slightly cooled off after his clutch performance in a nail-biter against the Timberwolves last Monday; nevertheless, the Filipino-American ‘Flamethrower’ egged on the Jazz (24-24) to their fourth win in their last five games.
Utah hit their stride while making 45-of-87 shots (51.7% FG), sank 19-of-32 treys (59.4% 3-PT). The Jazz controlled the phone booth scoring more points in the paint (50 to 34), had more assists (26 to 24), more steals (4 to 1), more blocks (7 to 6), and lesser turnovers (8 to 13). They led by as much as 25 points over an undermanned Clippers, in the second game of a back-to-back, without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
The Clippers showed the effects of not having a full deck, but still managed a respectable 37-of-92 shooting (40.3% FG, 15-of-34 treys (44.1% 4-PT), controlled both boards grabbing more total rebounds (50 to 44), and were slightly more careless committing more fouls (20 to 19). The Clippers could not stop the Jazz who shot 65% from 3-point range through three quarters.
Norman Powell led the Clips with 30, I. Zubac added 15 points and 12 rebounds, N. Batum and R. Jackson 11 each, A. Coffey 8, M. Morris, Sr. 7, and the quadro R. Covington, M. Diabate, T. Mann, and J. Preston collectively chipped in 11 paltry points.
The Clippers (23-24) are in a slump having lost 9 of their last 11 games, and the return of (Pacquiao fan) Kawhi Leonard and Paul George cannot come soon enough. Both Leonard (right knee) and George (right hamstring) sat out to recover from their 120-110 loss to Philadelphia. Compounding LAC’s problem was the absence of John Wall (abdominal strain) and Luke Kennard (right calf).
Upcoming:
Utah Jazz (24-24): Host Brooklyn Nets (27-16) on Friday night.
LA Clippers (23-24): At San Antonio Spurs (14-31) Friday night.
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