Jazz 103, Clippers 93
Game 73: Tuesday at the Staples Center
ANALYSIS
LOS ANGELES — So many Jazz shots were blocked Tuesday night that NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was wearing a Los Angeles Clippers uniform and not sitting on their bench in his new capacity as an assistant coach.
The Clips blocked 11 shots Tuesday, one shy of the season high for a Jazz opponent this season — and it's a big reason L.A. stayed with Utah as long as it did before finally losing.
Why they were able to do it is another matter. Michael Olowokandi, who had four of the blocks, is benefiting from Abdul-Jabbar's big-man tutelage. But that isn't the only reason the Jazz — especially Karl Malone, who nevertheless scored a game-high 34 points, were frustrated.
"Either we were going too soft, or we weren't getting the right calls," Jazz center Olden Polynice said. "And I thought we were going pretty hard, so . . . It's one of those things. I mean, a couple of times I saw Karl going in there, and the first thing I saw was his head snapping back, and they were like, 'Good block.' "
RECORDS: Jazz 50-23; Clippers 14-60
NEXT UP: Phoenix at Utah, Thursday, 7 p.m. at the Delta Center
THREE KEYS
Veteran Jazz starters knuckle down in fourth quarter
Karl Malone takes over, scoring 34
Jazz hold Clippers to 11 fourth-quarter points, tying an opponent's low for the season
QUOTABLE
"Utah didn't get to this level without being able to execute some crunch time"— Clippers coach Jim Todd