INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — James Harden scored 24 of his 41 points in the first quarter and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled to a 144-107 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night while reaching a season-high scoring total.
Norman Powell had 29 points, Ivica Zubac added 19 points with 12 rebounds and Amir Coffey scored 16 points as the Clippers ended a three-game losing streak and a two-game home skid.
Harden had 34 points at halftime when the Clippers had an 81-47 lead. It was the most points in a first half as a team for the Clippers since scoring 82 in a December, 2019 game against Washington.
Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points, Lauri Markkanen added 17 and Collin Sexton had 15 for the Jazz, who lost their third consecutive game and fell for the eighth game in their last nine. Utah dropped to 3-10 on the road.
Takeaways
Jazz: Entering the game near the bottom of the NBA with an average 119.3 points allowed, the Jazz saw the Clippers shoot 63.4% in the first half to trail 81-47, while also allowing 59.8% shooting in the game.
Clippers: Head coach Tyronn Lue has said there is more energy in practices as Kawhi Leonard (knee) moves closer to his season debut and it showed early as the team shot 72.7% from 3-point range in the first quarter.
Key moment
Harden worked the shot clock down at the end of the first quarter and made a 29-foot 3-pointer to give him his 24 points in the period while outscoring the Jazz, who had 20.
Key stat
Harden delivered the second-most points in any quarter in Clippers franchise history, behind Lou Williams’ 27 points in the third quarter of a January 2018 game against Golden State.
Up Next
Jazz visit Detroit on Thursday, and Clippers visit Dallas.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Doug Padilla, The Associated Press
