Clippers hold off Jazz for 103-99 preseason win

[October 24, 2013]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Darren Collison scored 14 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Blake Griffin had 15 points through the first three periods, helping the Los Angeles Clippers post a 103-99 preseason victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

Chris Paul, who had 40 points and 11 assists Saturday night in the Clippers' 118-111 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets at Las Vegas, played more than 12 scoreless minutes against the Jazz before ending the drought on a 3-pointer with 2:25 left in the first half. He finished with 14 points and 10 assists.

Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 16 points.

Shooting guard J.J. Redick, who came to the Clippers from Milwaukee in a three-team trade with Phoenix on July 10, had 14 points in his preseason debut and played 19 minutes after sitting out the first five games because of a partial tear of his left quadriceps. The injury occurred the first day of training camp.

Clippers No.1 draft pick Reggie Bullock, who is recovering frim a sore right knee, also played his first game, playing 6 scoreless minutes. Matt Barnes remained sidelined with a sore left calf.

Derrick Favors had 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost six straight since opening their exhibition schedule with a 101-78 win over Golden State.

Utah's John Lucas III had four points during a foul-plagued 27 minutes. The six-year veteran has taken over as the starting point guard for highly regarded rookie Trey Burke, who broke a finger in the team's third preseason game and is expected to be out from two to three months.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers rested his starters the entire fourth quarter after they ended the third trailing 75-72. Ryan Hollins gave them an 84-83 lead with a dunk from an alley-oop pass with 7:08 to play, and Los Angeles never trailed after that.

Hayward gave Utah a 48-47 halftime lead on a 21-footer with 7.4 seconds left in the second quarter after the Jazz squandered a nine-point lead, their largest of the game.

Rudy Gobert, the first player off the Utah bench, missed his first four shots and played 17 scoreless minutes before his slam dunk off an offensive rebound gave the Jazz an 81-76 lead with 10:37 remaining. The 7-foot-1 reserve center had 12 rebounds, but was posterized by Griffin on a slam dunk that tied the score 64-all with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

The Clippers, coming off their first division title in franchise's history, conclude their preseason schedule Friday night at Staples Center against Sacramento before opening their 30th season in Los Angeles next Wednesday against the Lakers. The Jazz have one more dress rehearsal Friday in Anaheim against the Lakers before opening up the regular season next Wednesday at home against Oklahoma City.

[Associated Press; By JOE RESNICK]

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