Jazz’s Big Fourth Quarter Helps Cut Down Clippers

Utah 109, L.A. Clippers 93


LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (AP) -- The Utah Jazz overwhelmed the Los Angeles Clippers at both ends of the court and came away with a rare road victory.

Deron Williams had 18 points and 13 assists, and six of his teammates also scored in double figures for the Jazz in Monday's 109-93 win. It was just their second win in their last 13 away from home.

"We're obviously a better team when we're balanced like that,'' reserve forward Matt Harpring said. "The last couple of games we've been like that. Hopefully, we can continue to do that because it makes us so much harder to guard when you have six or seven guys that can score.''

Harpring scored 17 points for the Jazz, who got their eighth victory in 10 games after losing 11 of their previous 14.

"We ran and pushed the ball up the floor more than we should have instead of just walking it - because we hadn't put a lot of pressure on the defense until today,'' coach Jerry Sloan said. "That's what we have to do on the road. We can't just sit back and wait.''

Harpring shot 7-for-10 in a season-high 27 minutes. It was his first game since team orthopedic specialist Dr. Lyle Mason lifted the ban that limited Harpring's minutes from 16 to 18 per game. The 10-year veteran missed the entire preseason after undergoing surgery on his right knee for the third time in his career.

Corey Maggette scored 23 points for Los Angeles and Chris Kaman added 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Clippers, who beat New Jersey 120-107 in overtime Saturday night, haven't won consecutive games since starting the season 4-0. They are 8-25 since then.

The Jazz were never seriously threatened in the fourth. After Cuttino Mobley's 3-pointer and rookie Al Thornton's two free throws put Los Angeles within nine with 9:04 to play, the Jazz responded with a 20-6 run that opened up a 107-84 cushion with 2:24 left.

"It was definitely a good win, especially with the effort we got and the help we got from the bench,'' Williams said. "It was good to set the tempo early. We were active on defense and got some good steals and deflections.''

Both teams had eight turnovers in the first quarter. Utah finished with 19 and Los Angeles had 20, the fifth time this season that the Clippers had 20 or more.

"You just have to look at one stat line. Our 20 turnovers led to 29 points for them, which tells the story of the game for us,'' coach Mike Dunleavy said. "There were too many easy baskets because of our turnovers. They established a style of play and played a more physical game than us.''

Thornton hit a 3-pointer with 4:17 left in the third quarter, capping a 12-2 run that sliced Utah's 14-point lead to 66-62. That was as close as the Clippers got the rest of the way. The Jazz regained their double-digit lead in the final minute of the quarter on a layup by Harpring, who scored seven points in a 2:43 span during Utah's game-deciding run.

"It's not just mistakes and turnovers. It is being outworked,'' Clippers forward Tim Thomas said. "It is disappointing for them to have their way in Utah, then come in here and win.''

The Jazz, who came in with the league's second-best field goal percentage (48.9), shot 59.3 percent in the first half and led 54-43 at intermission. They did it for the most part without Andrei Kirilenko, who got into early foul trouble and picked up his third with 9:28 left in the second quarter.

Kirilenko, who went to the bench for good after getting his fourth foul 7:46 left in the third, did not attempt a field goal during his 9 1/2 minutes on the court. It was the first time this season that he played in a game without taking a shot.

Kyle Korver had 13 points, including a pair of 3s in the fourth quarter. Utah is 8-2 since obtaining him from Philadelphia in a trade that sent disgruntled Gordan Giricek to the 76ers. Korver, who set a 76ers franchise record for 3-point baskets in a season with 226 in 2004-05, has converted 12 of 39 attempts since joining the Jazz and is averaging 9.9 points since taking over the backup shooting guard spot from C.J. Miles.