Clippers Close 7-Game Road Trip With Victory Over Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 28 points and Chris Paul added 17 points and 10 assists to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 112-96 on Saturday night, and tally their fourth straight win.

Jamal Crawford tallied 22 points and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 12 rebounds as the Clippers (11-5) closed a seven-game trip that covered over 7,200 miles with a 6-1 record.

Gordon Hayward scored 30 points and Derrick Favors had 19 for the Jazz (5-12), who have lost a season-high five games in a row.

J.J. Redick had 13 points as the Clippers marked 12 consecutive victories over the Jazz with 56 percent shooting.

The Clippers now boast an NBA-best 5-0 record in the second half of back-to-back games.

The Jazz closed within 98-86 in the fourth quarter on a couple hustle plays by Trevor Booker, including an emphatic follow dunk. But the Clippers countered with 3-pointers by Redick and Crawford — both on assists from Griffin.

Griffin scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Clippers tried to get this one over quickly and get some rest on their road trip finale.

But the Jazz rallied behind Hayward's 20 second-quarter points, the most in a quarter for a Jazz player this season.

Hayward's running hook trimmed the lead to 51-45, but the Clippers soon extended the advantage to 62-50 at halftime thanks to Crawford's last-second jumper and free throw.

The Clippers even went for style points in posting their largest lead of the night. Griffin tossed the ball up for DeAndre Jordan who was under the basket but jumped straight up and jammed the pass through the hoop behind him to put Los Angeles up, 82-61.

TIP-INS

Clippers: Blake Griffin is third in the NBA with 29 points per game in the second half of back-to-backs. . Griffin got a technical for arguing an out-of-bounds call in the second quarter. . The Clippers never trailed.

Jazz: Alec Burks hurt his shoulder in first quarter while contesting a fast-break drive by Matt Barnes, and immediately went to the training room but returned and scored 12 points. . Rodney Hood played for first time after missing 10 games with foot inflammation and scored two points but missed all six of his field goal attempts. . Booker had 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

Clippers: Host Minnesota on Monday.

Jazz: Host Denver on Monday.

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