Salt Lake City, UT – Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Blake Griffin scored 20 points with five rebounds and five assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to their 10th straight win with a 96-87 decision over the Utah Jazz on Friday.
Chris Paul recorded 18 points with seven assists and six rebounds, while Matt Barnes and Darren Collison scored 15 and 14, respectively, in the win.
"We're just trying to win," said Rivers. "If we win by one, 30, or two points, a win is a win. I just want to keep getting better. I don't focus on 10 in a row. I like the way we're playing."
Trey Burke and Derrick Favors each tallied 18 points for Utah, with Favors adding nine boards. Enes Kanter deposited an 11-point, 15-rebound double- double in Utah's third straight defeat.
Richard Jefferson netted 14 points, Alec Burks 10, and Gordon Hayward dished out a game-high 10 assists in the setback.
The winning streak looked to be in doubt for most of the game until Paul keyed a huge third quarter run to give LA control.
Utah led by 10, 70-60, with 7:26 remaining in the third when the Clippers ended the quarter on a 17-2 surge. Paul had seven points during the run, and assisted on three other baskets to help the visitors to their first lead of the contest.
Griffin's putback slam gave the Clippers their largest lead of the game, 85-74, with just under 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the fourth.
The Jazz then scored six straight to cut the deficit to five after a Kanter hook shot at the midway point. That's as close as they would get the rest of the way as LA had an answer for everything thrown its way down the stretch.
Earlier, with the game tied at nine-apiece, Jefferson bookended a 12-2 run with a three-point play and a 3-pointer to give the hosts a 21-11 advantage early in the first.
Utah stretched the lead to a game-high 13 following a Burks trey late in the stanza, but Glen Davis ended the quarter with a layup to cut into the deficit.
The Jazz maintained the lead in the second quarter and took a 51-43 advantage into the break.
Game Notes
Utah outrebounded the Clippers 39-32 ... LA shot 37-for-76 from the floor, while Utah made 35-of-77 attempts ... The Jazz converted 7-of-14 from beyond the arc ... Utah had a 44-32 edge in the paint.
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