Utah Jazz 125-105 LA Clippers: Twitter in splits over Kawhi Leonard's mask as his side goes winless in NBA Preseason 2020-21
In yet another game where they refused to play their starters for extended minutes, LA Clippers lost out to the Utah Jazz 105-125. They started strong and led after the first quarter but got massively outdone from the three-point line for the rest of the night. Ty Lue still has a lot of work to do to as far as the offense is concerned.
Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic led the scoring for the Utah Jazz with 20 points apiece. Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell showed some great court vision with eight assists. For the LA Clippers, Paul George brought his two-way dexterity to the table. However, the only real positive coming out of the game for them was the defensive performance of Mfiondu Kabengele.
LA Clippers lose the three-point battle to Utah Jazz in the first half
The Utah Jazz were largely inefficient to start the first quarter. Bojan Bogdanovic did rake up a quick seven points but Donovan Mitchell struggled from the field. Interestingly, Patrick Beverley was the leading scorer for the LA Clippers in the first quarter.
The biggest incident in the early minutes was certainly Kabengele swatting Rudy Gobert inside the paint. The former had a great night overall.
In the second quarter though, the Utah Jazz just switched on the afterburners and pulled clear. They took a whopping 31 attempts from downtown in the first half, making 13 of them. In comparison, the LA Clippers only had six.
Luke Kennard helped the offense with his 10 points but it wasn't enough as Utah Jazz pulled ahead 58-48 at halftime.
Utah Jazz keep LA Clippers at bay in the second half
Kawhi Leonard started the second half strongly for the LA Clippers, managing two quick three-pointers to narrow the gap. However, he was taken off midway through the third quarter and that was it for him. George made the most of his physicality and got to the free-throw line often but he was also rested soon after.
The Utah Jazz entered the fourth quarter leading LA Clippers 90-78. End to end stuff was on display for the rest of the tie but it was primarily about individual brilliance. Clarkson managed 11 points in the entirety of the second half while Amir Coffey showcased his ability to score at the rim. Kabengele also scored a few buckets to cap off the night.
It's impossible for an LA Clippers game to play out without a few Kawhi Leonard trolls, so let's have a look at some of them
Also read: BREAKING - NBA launches investigation into how the LA Clippers and Jerry West signed Kawhi Leonard; West sued for $2.5 million