The Clippers, who've already clinched the No. 4 spot in the
playoffs, played without the bulk of their starting lineup as Chris
Paul, J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan remained in Los
Angeles for rest.
Utah, which is trying to secure a playoff appearance for the first
time since 2012, couldn't take advantage of the key Clippers'
absences thanks to a gutsy performance by the undermanned visitors.
Cole Aldrich had a huge night for the Clippers with season-highs of
21 points and 18 rebounds, while Paul Pierce and Jeff Green each
chipped in 18 points.
Gordon Hayward scored 24 points to lead the Jazz, who dropped to
39-40. Rodney Hood and Shelvin Mack each scored 13.
Utah leads Houston for the final spot in the Western Conference
playoffs by one game with three games remaining.
Alec Burks played for the Jazz for the first time since suffering a
broken left fibula against the Clippers on Dec. 26. He scored 11
points.
Utah rallied out of a 10-point deficit to take a seven-point lead
late in the fourth quarter before the Clippers surged to force
overtime.
Aldrich tied the game with a putback bucket off of his own miss with
two seconds remaining in regulation. The Jazz's last-second attempt
by Hayward was off.
The Jazz had a chance to go ahead near the end of overtime, but a
Hood shot was off.
The Clippers milked all but 0.2 of the final 22 seconds, and
Crawford delivered a dagger from beyond the arc.
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The Clippers held a six-point lead after Pablo Prigioni's bucket
with 6:48 in the fourth quarter.
By the time Los Angeles took a timeout at the 5:45 mark, the Jazz
enjoyed a four-point lead.
The 10-0 spurt began when Mack was fouled well behind the 3-point
line. He sank all three free throws and added one more after
Clippers coach Doc Rivers received a technical foul.
Mack and Hood followed that with 3-pointers.
The streak continued after the timeout with a Joe Ingles steal and
dunk and a free throw by Hayward after Prigioni was assessed a
technical foul for a 92-85 lead.
Green ended the Clippers' four-plus minute scoreless drought with a
3-pointer at the 2:12 mark to spark Los Angeles' late rally.
The Clippers used a 13-0 run in the third quarter to take their
biggest lead at 68-58. Crawford had eight points in that spurt.
Utah managed to cut the deficit to four by the end of the quarter
thanks in part to a last-second 3-pointer by Hayward.
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