Utah Jazz overcame a slow start to take down Los Angeles Clippers 112-109 in the opening game of their Western Conference second-round series. Donovan Mitchell scored 45 points and helped Jazz to a lead early in the best-of-seven playoff series. The next game is scheduled for Thursday in Utah. Rudy Gobert who is running for his third defensive player of the year award also put on a solid defensive show denying Marcus Morris a buzzer-beater three-pointer.
Clippers were leading by halftime by 60-47 against NBA’s top-seeded team. Jazz on the other hand had 6 days of rest and forced a comeback in the third quarter by outscoring Clippers 32-19 and leveled the score to 79-79 before the fourth quarter. Leonard dropped 23 points while George scored 20 for the Clippers but could not force a win.