It was all going so well until it wasn’t. The Utah Jazz were leading the series against the LA Clippers 2-0. But then Mike Conley got hurt and was out for several games. Then Donovan Mitchell retweaked his ankle, the Jazz defense couldn’t keep up and the Clippers grabbed their first win.
Then Monday’s game came and the Utah Jazz fell apart. Even a second half rally wasn’t enough to outweigh a dismal first half. In any case, the Clippers dominated and won, leaving the series tied 2-2 as game 5 comes back to Salt Lake City.
Hours before Wednesday’s game, AP announced that Clippers’ star Kawhi Leonard sprained his right knee and would be out for Game 5. The Jazz started the game hot. Bojan Bogdanovic hit six consecutive three-pointers in the first half. But they couldn’t get their defense together in the second half, letting the LA Clippers come back strong. The Jazz lost, 119-111. The series is now 3-2 in favor of the Clippers and Game 6 is in Los Angeles.
While all of this was happening, Rudy Gobert was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He is one of just four players to ever win the award at least three times. He was also a unanimous All-NBA Defensive first team selection.
Join Utah Jazz reporters Andy Larsen and Eric Walden at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 17 to talk about how the Jazz are doing so far in the playoffs and what they need to do to win the critical Game 6.
This is a special live Zoom meeting open to sltrib.com subscribers. In honor of the playoffs, readers can become subscribers at a discount by clicking here: https://apcess2015.com/unlimitedweek/?tpcc=zoom.
To register for the Zoom meeting, click here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvduygrzgoHtJiedgW6CyFKT-UOxK9Yvnz
