BY: ROBERT ANTHONY MORALES – SPORTS ON AIR USA CORRESPONDENT
12-17-2024
LOS ANGELES — James Harden hit seven 3s on the way to 41 points and the Los Angeles Clippers made short work of the Utah Jazz, 144-107, Tuesday night (Wednesday AM Manila time) at the Intuit Dome.
Norman Powell had 29 points and Ivica Zubac added 19 and 12 rebounds as the host Clippers put the game early with a 44-point first quarter followed by a 37-point second quarter surge that gave Los Angeles an 81-47 halftime bubble.
Despite the blowout win, a modest Harden told reporters post-game that they’re still a “long way to go” but is optimistic with the impending return of the injured Kawhi Leonard.
Utah tried to claw back with a 33-point fourth quarter but the Clippers refused to take their foot off the pedal and cruised the rest of the way.
Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 20 points off the bench while Lauri Markannen chipped in 17 and 5 boards. But Utah couldn’t get any offensive traction after a slow start and settled with 36 of 80 shooting from the field (45 percent) and 13-of39 from 3-point distance (33.3 percent).
The Clippers improved to 15-12 to move to ninth place in the Western Conference while the Jazz, losers of three straight, dropped to 14th place in the West with a 5-20 card.
