LOS ANGELES -- Understandably, the Clippers wanted to
put as much distance as possible between themselves and their deflating
loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday
night.
They couldn't get away from that
game fast enough. It was every inch a disaster -- a 26-point defeat that
left them empty and discouraged coming out of the All-Star
break.
Saturday night, they regrouped. It
wasn't perfect, but their 107-94 win over the Utah Jazz at Staples
Center was just enough to help them forget the Spurs and point them in a
forward direction.
"We were a lot more
focused," guard Chauncey Billups said. "That San Antonio game, it left a
really bad taste in our mouths. We wanted to come out here and compete,
and our effort level was much better, a lot more focused. Overall it
was a good game for us."
The victory was
the Clippers' 40th in 58 games, marking the earliest point in franchise
history the team has reached that mark. It also gave them a 4-0 sweep of
the Jazz this season; the last time that happened was 1978-79 when the
Clippers played in San Diego and the Jazz were in New
Orleans.
But history is not on their minds.
They were more focused on playing with energy and enthusiasm, and they
finally did in the third quarter. With a 51-49 halftime edge, the
Clippers outscored Utah 19-2 to start the third, giving themselves a
19-point lead.
Caron Butler had 21 points
and Blake Griffin 18, but it was reserve forward Lamar Odom who gave the
Clippers the shot they needed. He had a season-high 18 points,
including 11 in the final period, and sank two three-pointers.
"L.O. was unbelievable tonight," Chris
Paul said. "Without his spark, his aggressiveness, we don't win this
game. When he's aggressive, it changes the dynamic of our team and what
we're capable of."
Odom hit three big shots
after the Jazz had cut their deficit to 13 points with 6½ minutes left
in the fourth: a layup, a three-point jumper and another outside shot to
push the Clippers' lead to 104-84.
"He did
a great job tonight, knocking down jump shots and taking it to the
rack," Utah's Gordon Hayward said. "He really caused some problems for
us. Usually you're trying to shut down Jamal Crawford, and that's a task
in itself, so when you've got another guy who's rolling like that, it
makes it really difficult."
Odom doesn't
like to take credit for good games, preferring to be a contributor on
the bench who can help in a number of ways. This was no
different.
"I'm just trying to stay at it
and word hard," he said. "I'm trying to fit in and do whatever I can to
help the team win. It was a good night offensively, but the main thing
is just to keep at it, keep working hard and keep trying to get
better."
That goes for all of them. They
put another day between themselves and the Spurs, and that it itself was
a major victory.
