Through three games of their first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Utah Jazz have mostly taken care of business when it counted.
Few expected Utah to drop Game 1 at home, as the Jazz missed shot after shot, shooting a horrible 12 of 47 (25.5%) from 3. Utah’s offense is built around taking lots of 3-pointers and dunks, and when plenty of open 3s weren’t falling for the Jazz, Utah dropped the opening game of the series, 112-109, with Donovan Mitchell out.
If there was any silver lining to the loss, it’s that the Jazz battled back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer.
In Game 2, Utah again couldn’t put an entire 48 minutes together as Memphis made Jazz fans sweat with a third-quarter comeback, scoring 43 points in the third quarter and cutting Utah’s lead to as little as three points late in the third. When it mattered most, Utah performed well, going on a 10-0 run to open up the fourth quarter and separate themselves from Memphis. The Grizzlies never recovered, and the Jazz won 141-129.
In Game 3, the Jazz led throughout the game but lapsed to begin the fourth quarter. Memphis and Utah went back and forth, trading blows throughout the period in front of a raucous Grizzlies home crowd. Memphis even took the lead with five minutes remaining.
In crunch time, Utah showed that it was the more experienced playoff team, Mitchell took over, and the Jazz went on a 14-2 run to end the game — a 121-111 win to go up 2-1.
The fact that the Jazz seem to be able to tap into another level when it matters is a good sign for a team that wants to make a deep playoff run. On the other hand, it would be nice to see Utah, which had the the best record in the NBA this year, put it all together and dominate the No. 8 seed in a game.
Chris Paul shows his mettle as Suns pull even with Lakers
Chris Paul has never been a Jazz fan-favorite after the Paul-led Houston Rockets eliminated the Jazz in back-to-back years in the playoffs. He’s not the most endearing player to watch — like new Jazz villain Dillion Brooks, he can get under the skin of fans and players alike, annoying them with his grabbing, pushing and complaints to the referees.
NBA fans don’t have to like Paul, but they have to give him respect for what he’s done, both in Oklahoma City and in Phoenix.
In an era where superteams and seeing small-market players force their way out onto big market teams is common, Paul has been a breath of fresh air.
He was traded from the Rockets, which he helped lead to a Western Conference Finals appearance, to Oklahoma City in 2019 for Russell Westbrook. The Thunder were rebuilding. Instead of holding out or forcing a trade, Paul led the young Thunder to a 44-28 record and a playoff spot in a year where OKC was expected to win just 30 games.
Paul was dealt to the Suns the following season, and was a huge part in Phoenix’s turnaround from a 34-39 record to a 51-21 record. The Suns are simply a much better team because of Paul’s leadership. He scored 16.4 points and dished out 8.9 assists per game in the regular season, guiding the Suns to the No. 2 seed, with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers — perhaps the most-talented No. 7 seed in NBA history — waiting for them.
You’ve got to admire Paul’s toughness. After suffering a shoulder injury in a Game 1 win, it was clear he was really hurt. He had just seven points playing through the pain during the opening contest. The Suns lost the next two games, with Paul putting up just six and seven points, playing with an injured shoulder.
Paul looked more like his normal self on Sunday, leading the Suns with 18 points, nine assists and three steals as Phoenix tied the series at 2-2 with a 100-92 win at Staples Center. Lakers star forward Anthony Davis injured his groin in the game and did not play in the second half. That will be something to monitor as the series progresses.
Clippers get back into series in Dallas
The Los Angeles Clippers tanked their way into the 4-5 matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, losing their last two games of the regular season against lowly Houston and Oklahoma City while resting stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The reason the Clippers wanted the 4-5 matchup against the Mavericks was presumably to avoid the Los Angeles Lakers, the No. 7 seed, until the Western Conference Finals.
With that in mind, it’s funny that the Clippers were losing their hand-picked series 2-0, dropping both games at home. Mavericks star Luka Doncic was phenomenal, scoring 31 in Game 1 and 39 in Game 2. It seemed the Clippers were on the ropes as the series shifted to Dallas, where a nearly-full arena waited.
Despite a 44-point night from Doncic, a combined 65 points from Leonard and George were too much in Game 3.
On Sunday, the Clippers dominated, winning 106-81. It was the lowest-scoring game of the entire season for Dallas. Doncic was clearly in pain from his injured neck and shoulder and didn’t have as big of a night as the rest of the series, scoring 19 points.
Playoff P lived up to his self-appointed nickname for a night, scoring 18 of his 20 points in the first half. Leonard was great as well with 29. Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum scored double-digits.
For Dallas, no one besides Doncic could do much. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 and Boban Marjanovic was good early, ending with 12.
The game was practically over in the second quarter. Dallas shot just 35% from the floor and 17% from 3. The Mavericks failed to provide much defensive resistance the entire game and it was a blowout throughout. The Clippers shot nearly 50% from the field.
The Clippers have flipped the series on its head. Without Doncic at full strength, the Mavericks just don’t have what it takes to beat a talented Clippers team. As Doncic goes, Dallas goes.
The good news for Dallas is that it now has two days off before Game 5 in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Elsewhere around the NBA playoffs ...
- Portland vs. Denver looks like it could go seven games. The Nuggets are without star Jamal Murray, but leading MVP candidate Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets have put up a good fight against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard scored 34 in a Game 1 win, then Jokic had 38 to tie the series at 1. In the closest game of the series, Denver prevailed 120-115 behind Jokic’s 36 and 21 from Austin Rivers. Portland answered back with a 115-95 blowout to tie the series up at 2-2. The pivotal Game 5 is in Denver on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MDT. Every Western Conference series except for the Jazz-Grizzlies series is tied at 2-2.
- Milwaukee swept the Miami Heat, completely dominating all but the first game. Miami went to the NBA Finals last year in the bubble and returned most of the core, including Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. The Bucks won Game 2 132-98, Game 3 113-84, and Game 4 120-103. Miami’s offense simply didn’t show up in the series.
- Atlanta’s Trae Young has been perhaps the star of the playoffs so far. In front of a Madison Square Garden crowd that hurled obscenities at him — one fan even spit on him — Young stayed composed. Ice Trae scored 32 in a Game 1 win, 30 in a Game 2 loss, 21 back in Atlanta in Game 3 and 27 in Game 4 on Sunday. The Hawks have the New York Knicks on the ropes, 3-1.
- Brooklyn vs. Boston looked like it could turn into a series after Celtics guard Jayson Tatum scored 50 points and led Boston to a 125-119 lead to make the series 2-1 Nets. With a full TD Garden rocking on Sunday, the Celtics went up 21-13, but Kyrie Irving, who was booed every time he touched the ball, Kevin Durant and James Harden were too much. Irving scored 39, Durant scored 42 and Harden added 23 as Brooklyn won 141-126 and took a 3-1 lead.
- Philadelphia has overpowered Washington, with a 120-95 Game 2 win and a 132-103 Game 3 win to go up 3-0. Joel Embiid has been fantastic, scoring 30, 22 and 36. The 76ers look every bit the No. 1 seed in the East.