Blake Griffin, Caron Butler wax hot in third as Clips roll past Jazz

Los Angeles, CA, United States (4E Sports) – Blake Griffin and Caron Butler combined for 23 third-quarter points to key the Los Angeles Clippers’ breakaway en route to a 107-94 triumph over the Utah Jazz Saturday at Staples Center.

Griffin and Butler accounted for 10 and nine points, respectively, in the Clippers 19-2 run to turn a 51-49 lead into a commanding 70-51 cushion with 6:54 left in the third period.

“Third quarter, we got into it defensively a little bit, got some stops so we were more aggressive and did a much better job with points in the paint and just our overall effort,” said Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

Griffin poured 12 of his 18 points while Butler had 11 of his team-high 21 in the third for the Clippers, who completed a four-game sweep of the Jazz this season for the first time since 1978-79.

The last time it happened, the Clippers were based in San Diego and the Jazz were in New Orleans.

Lamar Odom also played a big role in the third-quarter breakaway, contributing five of his 18 points, his highest output since scoring 19 against the Jazz last season.

“I’m just staying with it, looking for my offense. … just trying to play through whatever I’m going through and just letting the game come to me,” said Odom, who also grabbed six boards off the bench.

Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 12, Chris Paul had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while DeAndre Jordan had seven points and 12 boards to help the Clippers (40-18) bounce back from an embarrassing 116-90 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Gordon Hayward tallied 23 points off the bench while Paul Millsap scored 19 points for the Jazz (31-25), who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Millsap accounted for 15 of the team’s first 16 points in the first quarter but was grounded by early foul trouble in the third period.

Al Jefferson scored 16, Enes Kanter had 15 and Alec Burks had 12 for the Jazz, who made just one of 15 attempts from beyond the arc for a miserable 6.7 percent clip.

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