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Facing the prospect of losing 3-0 to the top-seeded Utah Jazz, the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers played their best basketball of the series on Saturday with a 132-106 victory in Game Three.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led the way for the Clippers, as both stars crossed the 30-point mark in the post-season for the second time in their careers as teammates. Los Angeles is now 2-0 in those games. Donovan Mitchell earned 30 points with the Jazz, his 14th career record of 30 points in just 30 post-season games, but he was knocked out midway through the fourth quarter after a worsening ankle injury.
Can the Clippers maintain their continuity in Game 4? Will jazz have a healthy backyard to hire on Monday? Here are five things we took away from Game 3.
More: Matches, schedules, and full coverage of the NBA playoffs
The playoff game P appeared on Saturday
Over the past several years, no one has been abused more for their playoff failures than Paul George. Time after time, he and his team have fallen apart in the post-season, and George’s play — and his words — has been dissected to an endless degree.
Saturday night, though, was a reminder of why the Clippers got into the pairing problem between George and Kawhi Leonard two years ago — and why Leonard himself wanted to play alongside him.
George finished Game 3 with 31 points and five assists while leading 6-10 from a 3-point range – the kind of effective offensive performance the Clippers needed to return to the Western Conference semifinals, and George needed to try. And changing the impression that the world of basketball has about him.
He forgot that during his time with the Indiana Pacers, George had had a few playoff moments. But those failures have been overshadowed ever since — from a first-round loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, when Damian Lillard finished the series with a bomb over him from nearly half the field, to last year’s collapse against the Denver Nuggets, when George fired a triple pointer down the side of the backboard while losing a game Clippers 7. As a result, his nickname “Playoff P” became the subject of an endless series of jokes.
If he and the Clippers can pull themselves out of this hole, it will give George a chance to rewrite the narrative that grew up around him. As my colleague Brian Windhurst likes to say, “Winning a championship means never having to say you’re sorry.”
Saturday night’s blowout made he and the Clippers one step closer to doing just that. – Tim Bontemps
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 65 points in the Los Angeles Clippers’ Game Three victory over the Utah Jazz and Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images.
As much as Donovan Mitchell did well with Utah in the first two games, Rudy Gobert’s influence at both ends was almost as important. The Jazz was plus 19 in Joubert’s 69th minute of action and beat him by 10 in the other 27 minutes in Salt Lake City. That changed on Saturday, when Utah was under-16 with Joubert on the field – similar to the plus-minus of the other team players.
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Having had a huge hit in Game 2 with Ivica Zubac starting from the center, the Clippers returned to the small starting lineup without a traditional center. This forced Joubert to defend the shooter on the perimeter, allowing the Clippers to attack without him near the basket. And unlike Game 1 – when they also started playing small ball – the clippers avoided mashing on the offensive glass by the Jazz, who only had 22.5% of the available offensive rebounds.
The score was 44-32 in the paint for the Clippers, who shot 55% (22 of 40) on those attempts while Utah struggled to finish the paint, going 16 of 35 (46%). – Kevin Bilton
Kawhi is still the best 2-way player in gameplay طريقة
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Kawhi Leonard takes matters into his own hands as he makes his way to the basket and sky to ruin the tire on a strong throw.
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Kawhi Leonard takes matters into his own hands as he makes his way to the basket and sky to ruin the tire on a strong throw.
You knew Kawhi Leonard would be the best player on the field in at least one game in the series.
For the Clippers to have any hope of progressing, it had to happen in Game Three. As he repeatedly did with Los Angeles in dire situations during the first round, Leonard rose to the occasion.
The credit to Paul George for making Leonard’s place as the biggest star in Saturday’s Clippers win is debatable. George had the best offensive performance of the season with 31 points, but Leonard’s very big imprints were everywhere on the victory.
Leonard dominated with his strength, toughness, and athleticism. He scored 34 points on 14 of 24, with more than half of his buckets in the paint. He’s got 12 rebounds, many different go-ups and get it-in-traffic. He was the Clippers’ most influential defender, guarding Donovan Mitchell during most of the Jazz star’s goalless first quarter and creating chaos as an assistant defender on numerous occasions.
I thought the two-time NBA Finals best player wouldn’t go down without a fight. Leonard landed a haymaker on Saturday night. – Tim McMahon
Jazz needs Mike Conley, Jr.
Donovan Mitchell’s lead in the first two games was great cover, but the jazz was missing Mike Conley Jr. When Spida is off the ground, Conley is often tasked with managing the offensive and creating appearances for his fellow non-Mitchells.
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In the first two games of the series, uninvited Jazz players fired Mitchell only 38% of the field (46 vs 121). Conley is the only other initiator who can make a good appearance for himself, and without him, the crime is one-dimensional. Eventually, the Clippers were adjusting to the Jazz’s offensive schemes, and they did in Game 3.
With Mitchell apparently adjusting his previously injured ankle multiple times in the series, Conley’s offensive creation is even more important if Mitchell is slowing down in any way. – Andre Snellings
Reggie Jackson, The Tenth Factor
When the Clippers were all about cutting the slate to complete their superstars, they probably didn’t exactly expect Reggie Jackson to become the spot shooter and crucial third-scorer.
But as the series progressed, Jackson’s importance became apparent. He’s not just the headshot and shot maker, it’s the breaker and pressure release that can open the way for Leonard and George. Jackson’s ability late on the clock to drive down the lane or hit a difficult step back is the kind of rescue that playoff victories are often built upon.
Against a team like Jazz, who moves the ball dynamically, balances their goals and hits a 3-second volley, relying on a two-headed attack will never suffice. But if Jackson was to constantly introduce the production type to a false third start, suddenly the Clippers start looking like the super team they were meant to be. – Royce Young
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