The Clippers needed a victory Thursday night to increase their chances of securing one of the four spots in the summer league semifinals.
A victory over the Utah Jazz by more than 24 points would have guaranteed their postseason future, but the unbeaten Clippers (4-0) had to settle for an uneven 105-88 triumph at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
They must now, however, wait until after Friday’s games to find out where they officially land. The other unbeaten teams – the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat – all play Friday. The Memphis Grizzlies (4-0) won Thursday to stay in the playoff picture.
The Clippers were led by Kobe Brown’s 20 points, three rebounds and six assists and Jordan Miller’s 19 points, five rebounds and four assists. But it was the defensive play of young players such as Elijah Harkless that helped shut down the Jazz in the fourth quarter.
The game was close heading into the second half. The Clippers led, 43-40, at halftime but pulled away in the third quarter to lead 70-64. The Jazz stuck around and trailed 76-71 with 8:04 left in the game.
The Clippers continued to pressure the Jazz, taking advantage of their 16 turnovers, and eventually smothered any comeback, outscoring them 35-24 in the final period.
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While they struggled at times to get to the rim in the first half, the Clippers put on an impressive defensive effort in the first half. They shut down the Jazz and staged a 17-4 run, capped by a layup from Miller, to take a 30-28 lead with 5:05 left in the first half.
And they kept going. The Clippers scored the next seven points before former Duke standout Kyle Filipowski scored on a jumper to get the Jazz (2-2) back in the game and the Clippers found themselves holding a three-point halftime lead.
Unlike their previous three summer league games, the Clippers struggled early, missing their first seven 3-point attempts before RayJ Dennis buried one with 11 seconds left in the opening quarter.