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What we learned from the LA Clippers’ comeback win over Utah Jazz

By Garrett Chorpenning

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 3: Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers looks on during a game against the Utah Jazz on November 3, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 3: Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers looks on during a game against the Utah Jazz on November 3, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 03: LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket during an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the LA Clippers on November 3, 2019, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 03: LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket during an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the LA Clippers on November 3, 2019, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

LA Clippers earn win in fourth quarter

Things weren’t going so well for the LA Clippers before the fourth quarter. Their shooting was awful, the pacing was off and to that point, they had tallied just 65 points — putting them on pace to score roughly 87 points on the night.

LA’s best players weren’t producing, either. Kawhi Leonard had recorded 12 points in the first 36 minutes of game time, followed by Ivica Zubac and Lou Williams, who each had 11.

That all changed in the fourth.

Leonard went off for 18 points in the final frame on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line. Nothing the Jazz were throwing at him was working — Leonard connected on difficult shot after difficult shot, and Utah struggled to prevent him from getting to his spots on the floor.

It was the kind of performance that the Clippers have practically always been missing. Never before have they had a closer as talented as Leonard, and his ability to score at will means LA will find themselves “out” of fewer and fewer games as the season progresses. He doesn’t make it look like any of his moves are planned — it’s almost like he just “does” — but he’s surely calculated everything out in his mind before he even gets to his spot.

https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/1191207432111833089

Leonard wasn’t the only Clipper with a monster fourth quarter, either.

Montrezl Harrell went for nine points and five rebounds in the final 12 minutes of action, four of which came off of the offensive glass. It was a fantastic effort on his part to create extra possessions on a night when the Clippers struggled to score, and it ultimately paid off. LA finished the game with 29 second-chance points on 11-of-20 shooting, while the Jazz could only muster eight such points on 3-of-9 shooting.

In total, the Clippers racked up 40 points in the final frame, which is the most the Jazz have allowed in any quarter so far this season.

It was as gutsy and ugly a win as you’ll see in the early goings of the season, but a win is a win, and the Clippers are one game better because of it.

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