The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Utah Jazz 144-107 on Monday night, scoring a season-high 41 points, with James Harden scoring 24 of those points in the first quarter.
The Clippers snapped a three-game losing run and a two-game home losing streak with 29 points from Norman Powell, 19 points and 12 rebounds from Ivica Zubac, and 16 points from Amir Coffey.
When the Clippers led 81-47 at the half, Harden had 34 points. It was the most points the Clippers had scored in the first half since they scored 82 points against Washington in December 2019.
The Jazz, who have lost three straight games and eight of their previous nine, had 20 points from Jordan Clarkson, 17 from Lauri Markkanen, and 15 from Collin Sexton. On the road, Utah fell to 3-10.
Key Takeaways
Jazz: The Jazz, who started the game in the bottom of the NBA with an average of 119.3 points allowed, allowed 59.8% shooting throughout the game and saw the Clippers shoot 63.4% in the first half to fall behind 81-47.
Clippers: As Kawhi Leonard (knee) approaches his season debut, head coach Tyronn Lue has stated that there is more intensity in practices. This was evident early on, as the club hit 72.7% from 3-point range in the first quarter.
Crucial moment
At the end of the first quarter, Harden worked the shot clock down and scored a 29-foot 3-pointer to outscore the Jazz, who had 20 points, and score 24 points for the game.
Important statistic
After Lou Williams scored 27 points in the third quarter of a January 2018 game against Golden State, Harden scored the second-most points in any quarter in Clippers history.
Next up
On Thursday, the Clippers travel to Dallas while the Jazz travel to Detroit.
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