Kawhi's 41 Silences Jazz as Clippers End Road Woes in Utah
Kawhi Leonard made a list. He checked it twice. He sank Utah with a display both naughty and nice.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The shot left Kawhi Leonard’s fingertips in a hurry. The two-time Finals MVP had no other choice. It was either that or a shot clock violation. By the time the ball ripped through the nylon net, the only sound permeating throughout Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City was that of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from an exasperated crowd.
Leonard had tortured their beloved Utah Jazz all night and that exquisite shot, a running right-handed floater from beyond the 3-point line, pushed the LA Clippers in front of the Jazz by 15 points late in the fourth quarter. They knew their time was up.
The Clippers, thanks to Leonard, moved to 11-10 on the season with their 117-103 dispatching of the Jazz, and perhaps more importantly, gave the Clippers their first regular season road win in Utah since Feb. 13, 2017. The Jazz fell to 7-15.
The brilliant forward finished the night with a season-high 41 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. Leonard did it while shooting a hyper-efficient 14-for-23 from the field in what Jazz fans likely felt was 38 minutes too many.
“I think just picking his spots, getting into his spots, and he was just comfortable,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after the win.
Leonard scored 14 of his 41 in the first quarter before sprinkling another eight in the second, 10 in the third, and nine in the fourth.
“Like I said, just trying to figure out the flow for him, James (Harden), and PG (Paul George). Just how we can keep all those guys in a good rhythm. I thought he had a good rhythm, and his teammates kept looking for him and kept going through him and he was able to produce.”
Leonard started the game like a house of fire, sinking his first four 3-point attempts on the night before finishing the evening with a season-high six 3s.
“When you got someone that’s so efficient, and when he gets going early, he’s only going to get more efficient as the game goes,” Paul George said postgame. George himself finished the night with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a season-high six steals.
George continued: “It’s just having that reliable piece out there who’s going to make the right plays, who’s going to make the tough baskets when we need them, and it’s just another level of locked-in that he’s at. So at that point, again, try to make it as easy as possible for him when he’s out there.”
Friday night’s victory in Utah was the first time Kawhi Leonard had won any game on the road against the Jazz since Nov. 4, 2016, approximately 2,600 days ago. A lot has changed in that time, but one thing that hasn’t is Leonard’s ability to control the game with his pace and precision.
Ivica Zubac logged a career-high 42 minutes and 16 seconds in the win, a necessity due to backup center Daniel Theis being ruled out for Friday’s game due to an illness.
Zubac had 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks to aid the team to a big win.
“I told him before the game he’s going to play 40 [minutes],” Lue remarked postgame. “We needed every bit of it. I’ll give him the next two days off, give Zu [time] off, and let him recuperate, but we definitely needed it. We needed his size, his rebounding, his rim protection around the basket, so he was huge for us tonight.”
All five starters scored in double-figures for the Clippers in the win, with James Harden adding 12 of his own to go with eight assists and seven rebounds on 2-for-8 shooting. Terance Mann chipped in with 10 points, including two made 3s on the night which marked the first time all season Mann has made multiple 3s in a game.
Norman Powell came off the bench to add 10 points while Russell Westbrook had five points, five rebounds, and two assists. Rookie Kobe Brown played some important minutes as the backup center at times but spent most of his minutes at power forward. Brown had one point, three rebounds, and one nifty assist that led to a Zubac dunk.
Utah star Lauri Markkanen missed the game due to a left hamstring strain, leaving the Jazz shorthanded and beleaguered at times on offense.
John Collins led Utah in scoring with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Talen Horton-Tucker and rookie Keyonte George added 15 points apiece. But Utah was second-best all night, only leading for a brief time very early in the contest before the Clippers wrestled control and never truly looked back despite several Jazz runs.
The Clippers now return home to begin a four-game homestand that starts on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers before facing the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
L.A. is 8-3 in their last 11 games, and at least for now, they appear to be turning a corner that they long said would be coming when they preached a hearty helping of patience and understanding following the Harden trade.
It’s made all the easier when Kawhi Leonard enters the zone that he did on Friday. Or, as Leonard so eloquently put it: “[I] just made shots.”