By JOHN COON The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — Some nights the short-handed Clippers simply don’t have enough weapons, especially on the second night of a back-to-back set on the road.
Jordan Clarkson had a season-high 33 points and five assists, and the Utah Jazz snapped a five-game losing streak with a 125-112 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night.
Collin Sexton added 21 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Jazz. Lauri Markkanen chipped in 23 points and nine rebounds. Jarred Vanderbilt added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
John Wall finished with a season-high 26 points off the bench to lead the Clippers, who lost for the third time in five games. Reggie Jackson added 15 points for the Clippers, who lost despite outscoring Utah 65-22 in bench points.
“We’re a good team that can fight,” Wall said. “We’re never going to give up. We’ve got enough in this room when guys are down that we can compete at a high level.”
The Clippers again played without All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, sharpshooter Luke Kennard and also were without Norman Powell, who sat out with a left groin strain one night after scoring a season-high 32 points to lead their comeback win in Portland.
Utah’s efficiency on offense helped the Jazz pull away in the fourth quarter. The Jazz shot 55% from the field while making 14 3-pointers and scoring 52 points in the paint.
“We were playing to our style of basketball,” Markkanen said. “We were getting good looks. It didn’t really matter who’s shooting as long as it goes in and we’re getting good looks.”
The Clippers erased a double-digit deficit with a 12-0 run midway through the second quarter and took a 45-43 lead on a tip-in basket from Ivica Zubac that punctuated the run.
Clarkson made baskets on three straight possessions to energize the Jazz and put Utah back in front. The Clippers countered with a 9-0 run, capped by back-to-back baskets by Wall and raced to a 60-56 lead in the final minute before halftime.
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Utah reclaimed the lead for good behind a 22-6 run in the third quarter. Sexton scored back-to-back baskets to start a string of 11 consecutive possessions in which the Jazz scored and capped the run with a free throw – giving Utah a 90-76 lead.
The Clippers drew within a basket early in the fourth quarter, closing to 98-95 on Moussa Diabate’s three-point play. Then, the Jazz closed the door on a comeback. Vanderbilt, Clarkson, and Sexton combined to score baskets over seven straight possessions, pushing Utah’s lead to 113-99 midway through the quarter. Five of those seven baskets were in the paint.
“(It was) just one of those games we could’ve played a little better, could’ve stole, but (Utah) played well,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Moussa Diabate finished with a team-high eight rebounds.
Jazz: Markkanen scored Utah’s first four baskets, accounting for 10 of the team’s first 12 points. … Walker Kessler had a team-high four blocked shots.
UP NEXT
The Clippers host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday at 1 p.m.
More to come on this story.