Jazz beats Clippers 110-109, LA earns home-court advantage for 1st round and locks in 4th seed

Sat, Apr 13, 2024
NBA News (AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Reserve Kenneth Lofton Jr. scored a season-high 27 points and the Utah Jazz beat the Clippers 110-109 on Friday night after playoff-bound Los Angeles clinched the fourth seed in the West.

Bones Hyland led the Clippers with 20 points off the bench and Amir Coffey added 16. Dallas' loss to Detroit ensured the Clippers' seeding and put the Mavericks in fifth before the Clippers tipped off. The Mavs and Clippers will meet in the first round for the third time in five years.

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard missed his seventh straight game with right knee inflammation and is unlikely to return before the playoffs start next weekend.

Already eliminated, the Jazz managed to win their second straight game for the first time since Feb. 4-6. They snapped a 12-game skid Thursday with a win over Houston, another team that's already been eliminated.

Paul George, who played just eight minutes, and Ivica Zubac added 10 points each for the Clippers, who routed the Jazz by 29 points a week ago.

Hyland gave the Clippers a 105-104 lead on a drive in the fourth. The Jazz answered with six in a row to go up 110-105. Los Angeles got within a point with 31 seconds to go on Brandon Boston Jr.'s basket. But Xavier Moon missed at the final buzzer.