The Utah Jazz put an end to their recent three-game losing skid with a 108-101 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Center Rudy Gobert had a career night with 35 points on 13-of-14 shooting to lead the Jazz, to go along with 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Gobert’s big night made up for the fact that Gordon Hayward and George Hill both had a off-night shooting the ball. The team’s two leading scorers (39 total points per game) combined to go just 13-of-35 but did still put up 34 points.
The usually reliable Hayward has been fairly inconsisent in recent games. He’s scored below 20 points and shot 35 percent or worse from the field in three of his last four. However, that one exception was a season-high 38 points on 16-of-24 shooting in a losing effort against the Indiana Pacers.
Hayward was also outstanding in the Jazzz’s most recent meeting with the Clippers earlier this month. The Utah All-Star had 27 points to lead the Jazz to a 114-108 win over the Clips, which broke Utah’s nine-game home losing skid against LA
However, the Jazz haven’t been great on their travels recently. They’ve lost their last three road games in a row and are 1-4 in their last five.
The Los Angeles Clippers’ chances of catching the Jazz for the No. 4 seed in the West took another hit as they fell 97-95 to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. Blake Griffin had 21 points, but shot just 9-of-23 from the floor against the Mavs. DeAndre Jordan had a big game with 14 points and 18 rebounds, while Chris Paul had 15 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists.
The loss snapped LA’s recent three-game winning streak, and put them 1.5 games behind the Jazz.
The Clippers had been beating up on fairly weak opposition during that win streak, though. They clobbered the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-78 when they infamously rested all three of their All-Stars; they topped the New York Knicks, 114-105; and they demolished the tanking Lakers, 133-109.
Chris Paul was spectacular in his most recent meeting with the Jazz, as he finished with 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. However, he didn’t get much help from Griffin, who was held to a season-low 8 points. But look for Griffin to be more of a factor in this upcoming matchup at home.
The Clippers should be ready to get some revenge on the Jazz on their home floor after their recent defeat. LA is 8-1 (5-4 ATS) in its last nine home games against Utah.
