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A second-half turnaround allowed the Utah Jazz to beat the LA Clippers 112-109 in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals series on Tuesday night. Donovan Mitchell was at the heart of this change of fortunes for Quin Snyder's unit as he dropped 45 points on 16-of-30 shooting.
The Utah Jazz were hot to start the game and rushed to a 10-2 lead. The well dried up completely for a while as they then went on to miss 21 straight attempts, while the LA Clippers kept chipping away and led by as many as 13 at the break.
An inspired effort on both ends of the court allowed the Utah Jazz to erase that deficit in the third quarter. The hosts continued this momentum into the fourth, but the LA Clippers made a late run. They had the chance to tie the game during the final possession, but Rudy Gobert turned up with a huge block on Marcus Morris Sr. to seal the deal for his side.
Donovan Mitchell bails out the Utah Jazz once again
Donovan Mitchell had a mixed first half, where he scored a few points but failed to get the job done on defense. Spida was on a solo mission in the third quarter as he racked up 10 straight points to turn the tide in the Utah Jazz's favor. The LA Clippers had no answers for Mitchell there onwards as he scored 32 points in the second half.
Rudy Gobert was instrumental too as he kept Kawhi Leonard out of his favored spots inside the paint. The Stifle Tower finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Both Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic stepped up in Mike Conley's absence and scored 18 points apiece.
Here's how Twitter reacted to the Utah Jazz's comeback win against the LA Clippers.
Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George struggle as LA Clippers drop Game 1
Paul George had 20 points and 10 rebounds tonight, but the basket seemed too small for him as he went 4-of-17 from the field. He made some good defensive plays but missed way too many open looks which eventually hurt the LA Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard had 23 points and seven rebounds, but he was very mediocre on defense tonight. Leonard committed several unnecessary fouls and wasn't quick on switches or closeouts. He finished with a game-low plus-minus of -12.
Luke Kennard was the LA Clippers' best scorer against the Utah Jazz tonight, scoring 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Game 2 of this series will take place on June 10th. The Utah Jazz will be hoping to have Mike Conley back in the starting lineup by then, while the LA Clippers will be expecting their star duo to perform better.
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