Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points and Aussie Joe Ingles put up 19 as the Utah Jazz forced nine straight misses down the stretch to outlast the Los Angeles Clippers 117-111 and take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.<\/p>\n
Mitchell clinched the game with a driving shot with 43 seconds remaining but then appeared to hurt his leg slightly on a foul by Paul George with 10 seconds to play. He made one of two free throws after hobbling to the line.<\/p>\n
The guard is the first Jazz player with at least 35 points in back-to-back playoff games since Karl Malone in 1988.<\/p>\n
Ingles was also in the thick of the action all game, whether it was nailing four 3-pointers and 7-10 from the field, or ruthlessly mocking Clippers star George for flopping, the Adelaide product had Salt Lake City pumping.<\/p>\n
When the Clippers left Ingles with a rare free shot from beyond the arc and he took full advantage, NBA commentator Doris Burke gave a warning to his opponents.<\/p>\n
"There's the snooze button. Somebody might wanna check Mr Ingles. I know it's been a little bit of a struggle in the playoffs but that dude was on fire," she said.<\/p>\n
"And he is one of the most underrated trash talkers in the league."<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/IsaacKLee\/status\/1403213057388552192<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/djbdarren\/status\/1403206384980697089<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/andyblarsen\/status\/1403212389810589701<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/KendrickPerkins\/status\/1403214361200627715<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/MelanieDinjaski\/status\/1403213464311455747<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tjonesonthenba\/status\/1403212696389140485<\/a><\/p>\n In addition to finding some shooting form, Ingles also had four rebounds, four assists and one steal and was +21 when on court.<\/p>\n Jazz coach Quin Snyder heaped praise on Ingles.<\/p>\n "I thought that Joe played with tremendous poise and confidence," Snyder said of the Aussie.<\/p>\n A total of 20 3-pointers fell for the Jazz, tying their franchise record for a playoff game.<\/p>\n Jordan Clarkson scored 24, including six 3-pointers, and Rudy Gobert contributed 13 points and a career playoff-high 20 rebounds.<\/p>\n Reggie Jackson led the Clippers with 29 points and George had 27. Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points but managed just two in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n Once the Clippers took their only lead at 101-99 after consecutive 3-pointers by Jackson, the Jazz forced nine consecutive misses to power a 14-2 run that was capped by Ingles' 3-pointer to make it 113-103 with 3:07 to play.<\/p>\n "That's the beauty of our team, and it has been all year," Ingles said of the 14-2 run post-game.<\/p>\n "Just figuring out matchups, who we want to attack, where we want to go. We've got a lot of guys who can handle the ball and make shots.<\/p>\n "Finding the matchups we want and then attacking."<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/utahjazz\/status\/1403223511104118784<\/a><\/p>\n In the second half, the Clippers mixed multiple coverages and cut off the passing lanes that usually garner the Jazz clean 3-point looks and Jackson got hot.<\/p>\n Mitchell scored 27 first-half points \u2014 the most by a Utah player in the last 25 years \u2014 to spark the Jazz to an early lead and then a late second-quarter push to boost Utah to a 66-53 halftime lead.<\/p>\n Mitchell shot 11 of 16 in the first half and did the same in the second half of Game 1. He tallied 59 points on 22-of-32 shooting over those four quarters.<\/p>\n The demonstrative Mitchell has said he wants to conserve energy with the exceptional physical demands of the playoffs, but he couldn't help showing emotion one some of his spectacular finishes.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/utahjazz\/status\/1403227453351419905<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/andyblarsen\/status\/1403225436780470274<\/a><\/p>\n Mike Conley missed his second game after injuring his hamstring late in the Utah-Memphis series finale but the Jazz have now won six straight playoff games.<\/p>\n Jackson scored 16 points in the third quarter and the Jazz finally started missing shots against an active Clippers zone. Their 21-point lead shrunk to four when Marcus Morris drove the lane and flipped in a leaning shot to make it 82-78. The Clippers made their comeback without Leonard, who sat most of the period with four fouls.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/utahjazz\/status\/1403224362526953476<\/a><\/p>\n For most of the game, the Clippers looked for Gobert whenever they ventured into the lane and resorted to double-pumps and odd angles on the shots at the basket that weren't blocked by the long-armed Frenchman.<\/p>\n Leonard, George and Patrick Beverley were among the Clippers that shadowed Mitchell in addition to throwing double-teams at the Utah guard well beyond the 3-point line.<\/p>\n Instead of going small, the Clippers countered Gobert with DeMarcus Cousins and Ivica Zubac, who was hampered with foul trouble in the first half.<\/p>\n The series shifts to Los Angeles on Saturday for Game 3.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"