The Los Angeles Clippers are seeking more consistency on the offensive end, but the team’s defense appears ready for the postseason.
The Clippers (49-28) will aim for a complete effort when they face the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers (46-32) on Sunday.
Los Angeles has won five of its past six games and holds the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings. Cleveland is in third place in the East and will look to avoid its third straight loss after falling 116-97 to the host Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
The Clippers used a balanced attack in a 131-102 home win over the Utah Jazz on Friday. Utah lost its 11th straight game and struggled to contain Clippers guard James Harden, who recorded his third triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
“We took care of business; we didn’t play around,” Clippers forward Paul George said. “We just had force from the start of the game. We did a great job of just staying focused.”
Los Angeles finished with eight scorers in double figures, including Terance Mann (19), Norman Powell (18) and Russell Westbrook (17). Kawhi Leonard missed his third straight game with a sore right knee and is listed as out for Sunday’s contest.
The Clippers led 41-16 after the first quarter and held Utah to 38.5 percent shooting from the field for the game.
“I think our defense has picked up,” Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue said. “It’s been a lot better paying attention to detail, bringing the physicality, rebounding the ball well. Our defense has been holding us up, and so I know offensively we are going to be a good team and we can make shots.
“We haven’t shot the ball as well as we wanted to, but defensively is what’s carried us over these last six or seven games.”
Los Angeles is looking to avenge a 118-108 road loss to the Cavaliers on Jan. 29, when Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell finished with 28 points and 12 assists.
Mitchell has been playing through a lingering knee injury over the past month and was limited to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting against the Lakers. The five-time All-Star remains optimistic he’ll be closer to full strength when the playoffs begin.
“Just taking it step by step and not getting frustrated,” Mitchell said. “This is a really tight time of year. The best thing for it is rest. But we don’t have time for that. Just be myself, continue to build, continue to get better, and when the playoffs come, do my thing.”
One bright spot in the loss to the Lakers was the play of guard Darius Garland, who scored 26 points and tied a career high with five steals. Caris LeVert added 21 points for the Cavaliers, who committed 18 turnovers.
“I thought we did some really good things in spurts. We just couldn’t sustain it enough to come out with a win,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The turnovers kind of bit us in the butt. We also forced turnovers and didn’t convert on them.”
Jarrett Allen recorded his 39th double-double of the season for the Cavaliers, who are concluding a five-game trip. They will end the season with three home games.
–Field Level Media
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