Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points while James Harden tallied 16 points and 10 assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 115-103 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
Kris Dunn and Brook Lopez chipped in 14 points apiece to help the Clippers win for the ninth time in 10 games. Los Angeles scored 23 points off 17 Utah turnovers. Dunn and Harden combined for nine steals alone.
Ace Bailey led the Jazz with 20 points. Lauri Markkanen added 19 points and two blocks for Utah, which has one win in its last eight games.
The Jazz played without two starters. Keyonte George (rest) and Jusuf Nurkic (illness) both sat out for Utah. Markkanen returned to action after missing multiple games because of illness.
The Clippers made six baskets over seven possessions to break open a close game and grab a 73-61 lead midway through the third quarter. Dunn capped the scoring flurry with back-to-back buckets. He totaled nine points in the quarter.
Los Angeles extended the lead to 19 later in the quarter, going up 84-65 after Harden and Lopez drained back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 9-0 run.
Utah came out of the gates blistering hot on offense. The Jazz made four field goals on their first four possessions and started 5-of-5 from the field. Bailey led the way with three baskets and helped Utah charge to a 15-4 lead.
Los Angeles trimmed the deficit to a basket, closing to within 19-17 on a floater from Harden. Utah closed out the first quarter with a 10-1 run, holding the Clippers without a basket for three minutes. Walter Clayton Jr. buried a 3-pointer to cap the run and give the Jazz a 29-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Clippers erased a second double-digit deficit behind a 14-3 run to open the second quarter and took a 33-31 lead on Leonard’s pull-up jumper. Utah went four minutes without a field goal before Bailey ended the drought with a 3-pointer.
