In terms of starting strength alone, the Clippers still have the advantage, but the Jazz have always been tough and their substitutes are not bad, so this is a close series.
The Jazz played steadily despite losing Gobert in the first quarter, established an advantage in the third quarter and dragged the game to the end. With 18.7 seconds left in the game, the Clippers fell behind by 2 points. Paul scored a throw to tie the score, but Joe
Johnson made a layup at the last minute to beat the Clippers.
In the end, the Jazz defeated the Clippers 97-95 in an away game, with the Jazz leading the Clippers 1-0.
The scores in the four quarters (Jazz in front) are: 22-24, 30-28, 22-18, 23-25
For the Jazz, Hayward had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Joe Johnson scored 21 points and contributed a buzzer beater at a critical moment, George Hill had 16 points, and Favors had 15 points.
For the Clippers, Paul had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists, Griffin had 26 points and 7 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
…
On April 18, the Clippers and Jazz played the second game of the first round in Los Angeles.
Because Gobert was injured, the Jazz changed their starting lineup.
Jazz starting lineup: Hayward, George Hill, Ingles, Favors, Diaw.
At the beginning of the game, Paul made a mid-range shot, a three-pointer, assisted Griffin for a layup, assisted Jordan twice for alley-oop dunks, and had two steals, leading the Clippers to an 11-3 start. Hill made a fadeaway jumper and Hood Biao scored.
Three-pointers helped the Jazz catch up. DeAndre Jordan and Griffin dunked one after another, and the point difference reached double digits. DeAndre Jordan dunked with one hand during a strong attack. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led the Jazz 29-18.
In the second quarter of the game, Griffin stormed for a layup and caught the ball for a dunk. Joe Johnson shot an arrow on horseback and then turned and threw back. Favors hit two 2+1s in a row to help the Jazz catch up. Speights scored a three-pointer.
Griffin responded with another 2+1 dunk, and the Clippers always maintained a lead of more than 5 points. After Jordan's alley-oop dunk, Hill threw a timeout. At halftime, the Clippers continued to lead the Jazz 51-41.
In the second half, Griffin caught the ball for a layup and then turned around and scored. Hill and Diaw scored three-pointers successively. With Favors catching the ball for a layup, the Jazz were only 2 points away. Paul first hit a three-pointer and then stole the ball to counterattack.
A layup re-stabilized the situation. As Mbah a Moute caught the ball and made a layup, the point difference came to 12 points. After Pierce broke through for a layup, Felton hit a three-pointer and Johnson made an emergency jumper. At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers were 79-70.
Continue to lead.
In the final quarter of the game, Diaw scored Johnson's throw from the basket, and Speights made a mid-range shot from Crawford. The point difference remained at about 10 points. With one and a half minutes left in the game, the Jazz caught up to 6 points, and Griffin
Hitting a three-pointer to stabilize the situation, the Clippers maintained their advantage until the end, winning 99-91 and tying the score at 1-1.
In the whole game, Griffin scored 24 points and 5 rebounds, Paul had 21 points, 10 assists and 3 steals, DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 15 rebounds. At the last minute, he fouled out six times and left the game. Crawford scored 10 points.
For the Jazz, Hayward had 20 points and 6 rebounds, Favors had 13 points and 7 rebounds, George Hill had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, Joe Johnson had 13 points, and Hood had 10 points.
…
On April 21, the Clippers reversed the Jazz 111-106 in an away game, taking a 2-1 lead to regain their home court advantage.
In this game, Griffin retired from injury before halftime, which had a great impact on the Clippers. Fortunately, his teammates worked hard and finally reversed the game.
Griffin scored 11 points and 6 rebounds in the game, Paul scored 34 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, DeAndre Jordan scored 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Mbah a Moute scored 15 points.
For the Jazz, Hayward had 40 points and 8 rebounds, George Hill had 26 points, and Joe Johnson had 15 points.
…
On April 23, the Jazz faced the Los Angeles Clippers in Salt Lake City, starting Game 4 of the series.
For the Jazz, Gobert is back from injury, while for the Clippers, Griffin is out for the season due to injury.
Jazz starting lineup: Hayward, Hill, Gobert, Ingles, Diaw.
The Jazz relied on Joe Johnson's unresolved performance in the fourth quarter to overtake the score and eventually win the game.
In the end, the Jazz defeated the Clippers 105-98, and the Jazz tied the game 2-2.
The scores in the four quarters (with the Clippers in front) were: 26-24, 26-31, 28-22, 18-28.
For the Jazz, Hayward only scored 3 points, Johnson had 28 points, Hill had 13 points, and Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
For the Clippers, Paul had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists, Crawford had 25 points, Redick had 12 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
…
On April 25, the Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 96-92 in an away game, expanding the total score to 3-2.
Score in the fourth quarter (Clippers are behind): 19-21, 27-22, 18-15, 32-34.
Clippers: Paul contributed 28 points and 9 assists, Redick had 26 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Jazz: Hayward had 27 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Diaw had 10 points, Gobert had 11 points and 11 rebounds, Joe Johnson had 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Hood had 16 points and 5 rebounds.
…
On April 28, the Los Angeles Clippers challenged the Utah Jazz away from home, and the sixth game of the series began.
At the end of the game, the Clippers narrowly defeated the Jazz 98-93, tying the series at 3-3.
Specific scores: 20-22, 27-23, 31-25, 20-23 (Clippers in front).
For the Clippers, Paul had 29 points, 8 assists and 2 steals, Rivers Jr. had 13 points and 4 rebounds, Jordan had 13 points and 18 rebounds, Mbah a Moute had 13 points and 6 rebounds, Crawford had 12 points and 3 assists, Sibei had 13 points and 18 rebounds.
Ci scored 9 points and Redick scored 4 points.
For the Jazz, Hayward scored 31 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, Hill had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Gobert had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks, Joe Johnson had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
5 points and 2 rebounds.
…
On April 30, the tiebreaker between the Jazz and the Clippers began.
Jazz starting lineup: Gordon Hayward, Joe Ingles, Boris Diaw, Rudy Gobert, George Hill.
Clippers starting lineup: Luke Richard Mbah a Moute, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul, Austin Rivers, JJ Redick.
After four quarters of hard work, the Jazz as a guest at the Staples Center withstood the Clippers' late counterattack and finally won 104-91.
In this way, the Jazz passed with a total score of 4-3 and will face the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.
The specific scores in the fourth quarter were 24-24, 22-15, 33-24 and 25-28 (Jazz in front).
Seven Jazz players scored in double figures. Hayward had 26 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Hill had 17 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Favors had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists. Ingles had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Hood had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
11 points and 3 rebounds, Diaw had 10 points and 3 assists, and Johnson had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
For the Clippers, Jordan had 24 points and 17 rebounds, Crawford had 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Paul had 13 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds.
As the Clippers' season ends, Paul Pierce's career also comes to an end.
Overall, this is a series ruined by injuries. If Griffin is not reimbursed for the season, the Clippers are more likely to have the last laugh.