Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers had a pretty straight-coward agenda: win and survive. And Friday night in Salt Lake, they did just that. Behind another strong performance from Paul and timely contributions from his Clippers teammates, Los Angeles beats Utah 98-93 to even up the series 3-3 and force the deciding Game 7. The winner advances to the second round for a date with the Golden State Warriors.
Austin Rivers drains the clutch 3
Doc loves it
Steve Ballmer is HYPEEEEE#Clippers
(via @clippittv)pic.twitter.com/c371fU5E10
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 29, 2017
The Clippers looked like another troubled mess after Blake Griffin was lost for the playoffs, but they appear to have things figured out. Paul finished with 29 points and 8 assists to once again pave the way. Austin Rivers, who started at small forward, provided quality minutes with 13 points and 4 rebounds. But the key was the Clippers’ bench unit which looked rough out of the gate. Jamal Crawford showed why he is a sixth-man candidate ever year with a much needed 12 points and Marreese Speights has nine points in 10 minutes. It was a bigger team effort and now Los Angeles has the momentum heading into Game 7 at the Staples Center.
Nice pass from Pierce and DeAndre Jordan dunks one down over Gobert and he gets the foul!pic.twitter.com/zRFFJYk53q
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 29, 2017
Utah started off hot and led 22-13, but the lead quickly fell apart. The Clippers put up an 11-0 run just as the Jazz offense turned into a block of ice. Utah shot 3-13 from behind the arc in the first half, killing any momentum gained from the fast start to the game. Gordon Hayward led all scorers with 31 points, adding 7 rebounds and 7 assists. George Hill had 22 points too, but it was not enough. Simply put, the Jazz did not make their shots while the Clippers did. Utah shot 41% from the floor but a dismal 26.9% from three-point land. That comparison is the difference in this one.
Rudy Gobert denies Cp3 #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/ENGcpjksOP
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 29, 2017
The entire series has been ugly and back and forth and seemed destined for a Game 7. So far, this is the only series to go that length. Game 7 is at 3:30 EST at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
