Utah Jazz all but sink Clippers’ playoff hopes in 22-point rout

A hot start from Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio helped propel the Utah Jazz to a dominant 117-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, further cementing their playoff spot.

The Los Angeles Clippers came into Thursday’s matchup in Salt Lake City fresh off of a dramatic comeback victory over the San Antonio Spurs. After that gritty 113-110 win, it appeared as though that the Utah Jazz would have their hands full with Lou Williams and a desperate Clippers squad at home.

However, the Clippers played far more like a team focused on its summer vacation plans than one within reach of postseason play. The Jazz, kickstarted by an impressive first quarter from both Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio, bullied the Clippers all game long on both ends of the court.

The Jazz set the tone early on the defensive end. That defensive dominance led to four steals and two blocks in the opening period, including this play from Dante Exum —

Utah’s defense kept the Clippers out of sync until the game was out of hand. Even with some garbage-time buckets from the Clippers in the fourth quarter, Utah held LA to just 18 percent from three and forced 16 turnovers to go along with their eight blocked shots.

Mitchell’s early scoring was equally important, though. The 13th overall pick has largely become known for his ability to turn it on in the second half of games, however, Mitchell wasted no time getting going in this game.

The Rookie… I mean not rookie??? (Sorry, Jazz PR) finished the first quarter with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

#Spida4NotROY???

Rubio added nine points of his own before leaving the game with hamstring soreness. Jae Crowder also left the game early after suffering a corneal abrasion. Neither injury appears to be serious.

Lou Williams, who scored 15 fourth-quarter points on Tuesday night against the Spurs, was held to just 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting and 0-of-3 from downtown by the stifling Jazz defense.

While early free throws and timely buckets helped keep the Clippers within striking distance, an 11-0 Utah run in the second quarter gave the Jazz a commanding 54-34 lead. Utah never looked back.

The game was largely out of hand for most of the second half which allowed Quin Snyder to rest a few of his key pieces.

Despite getting some early rest, Rudy Gobert finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Joe Ingles added nine assists to go along with 11 points of his own. The Aussie forward also made his 200th three of the season, becoming the first-ever Jazz player to accomplish the feat and just the second ever foreign-born player to reach that mark.

Mitchell, who also checked out early, finished the night with 19 points. Utah’s bench carried the load while the starters were out. Exum, Jonas Jerebko and Alec Burks all added double-digit scoring efforts off the bench.

Thursday’s blowout win not only helped give a few of the Jazz starters a lighter load heading into the regular season’s final week, it also provided us with this moment —

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/982096167855992834

While David Stockton, who is currently on his second 10-day contract with the Jazz, had appeared in two games with Utah prior to tonight, this was his first time to take the floor for the Jazz at home.

The fans were LOVING it.

Gotta be a cool moment for him.

The good news didn’t stop there for the Jazz. Their hopes of potentially climbing to the Western Conference’s third seed were also kept alive as the Portland Trail Blazers fell late to the Houston Rockets on this clutch bucket from Chris Paul —

It kills me to say this, but…. thanks, Chris.

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While the chances are still slim, we could potentially have a game 82 showdown between the Jazz and Trail Blazes for the division title and the third seed. How fun would that be?

While the short and long-term future looks as bright as ever for the Jazz, Utah needs to continue to take things with a one-game-at-a-time mentality to close out the season. With such a close race in the West, even a small slip-up could prove costly.

However, if the Jazz can play at a level even remotely similar to the way they played on both ends of the floor against LA, it won’t matter what seed they are. This is a scary team.

#WestBeWarned #TakeNote

Whats next?

Utah (46-33) has two days off before taking on the Los Angeles Lakers (34-44) on the road on Sunday afternoon. If the Jazz want to maintain their hold on the West’s fourth seed and even keep hopes alive for the third, this is a must-win.

With games against the Golden State Warriors and Trail Blazers to close out the season, the Jazz must take care of business against an inferior team with nothing to play for.

Next: Chances are Mitchell, Gobert and Snyder will be award snubs

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