LOS ANGELES — Without – and now with! – Paul George, these Clippers are capable of big ol’ comebacks, rallying from precisely 25 points down for the second time this season (and from at least 25 points down for the third time and from 24 or more behind for the fourth time).
In his first game back from a 43-game layoff, George orchestrated a second-half surge that powered the Clippers past the Utah Jazz, 121-115, on Tuesday night before a sellout crowd of 19,068 fans who left Crypto.com Arena buzzing.
After the Jazz built a 76-51 lead with 8:07 left in the third quarter, the Clippers outscored their guests 70-39 – a run reminiscent of the 75-40 scoring splurge with which they closed Game 6 of their second-round playoff series against Utah last year. The Clippers also rallied from a 25-point deficit in that game, in what was then called Staples Center to earn their first Western Conference finals berth.
On Tuesday, they erased all of that 25-point buffer by the 3:24 mark of the fourth quarter on Isaiah Hartenstein’s 7-footer that put the Clippers ahead 110-109.
To this comeback, George played 31 minutes – and contributed 34 points (26 in the second half) on 10-for-20 shooting, including a 6-for-9 mark from 3-point range and an 8-for-11 effort from the free-throw line – a total that included the layup with 1:37 to play that put the Clippers ahead, 114-113.
Then, after Rudy Gobert’s bucket, Luke Kennard wound up and buried a 3-pointer to give the Clippers a 117-115 lead.
The Clippers got a couple of stops and, with 14.9 seconds left, Reggie Jackson – with the crowd chanting his name, as has become tradition – stepped to the free-throw line and knocked down both foul shots to extend the lead to 119-115 and send peanut butter and jelly snacks flying throughout the arena in accordance with the Clippers’ promotion on his behalf.
When Donovan Mitchell tried to call a timeout – one the Jazz didn’t have – it sent Jackson back to the line for the technical free throw that made it 120-115. George added one more free throw – and six assists and four steals – and the Clippers’ welcome back PG party was complete.
The Clippers, who outscored Utah 34-12 to end the game, snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 36-39. Utah dropped to 45-31.
If anyone had forgotten, there’s much to love about George’s game.
Amir Coffey’s favorite thing about George’s sublime skillset: “How smooth he is. His pace is crazy. He doesn’t let anybody speed him up and his ballhandling for his size.”
For Ivica Zubac, it’s the variety: “Just his talent. He’s one of the most talented players ever. His talent for the game of basketball, it’s insane. Like, there’s nothing he can’t do out there.”
So, yeah, Coach Tyronn Lue said, “when he’s making those 3s – when he’s making seven, eight 3s, and we’re tough to beat.”
Or, on the other end, Lue said, “just taking the challenge every single night of guarding the best player, I like that a lot about him.”
But what the Clippers’ coach digs most about the seven-time All-Star, he said, was George making himself available.
“Just the fact that even when he’s injured, he’s always trying to come back and play,” Lue said before tipoff Tuesday, when George made his 2022 debut, sashaying through defenders, streaking to the basket, sinking 3-pointers and free throws, stripping opposing ball handlers.
His legs and left arm wrapped in white leggings and a sleeve, George’s right arm – the one on which he’d suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament – was free of anything but tattooed references to L.A. and his hometown Palmdale.
Just his presence, Lue said, “means a lot. With seven games left in the season, he could very easily have just called it quits, but he wants to play. That’s huge.”
With only seven games left in the regular season, George clocked in again after 43 games away, returning to help bolster the Clippers’ hopes as the postseason – starting with a play-in game – around the corner and his team needing a boost.
George immediately gave the Clippers an infusion of style and substance, of star power – and scoring.
And a salve for the now-over skid.
Jackson added 21 points for the Clippers, and off the bench, Kennard had 17 and Hartenstein had 14.
Mitchell led five Jazz scorers in double figures with 33 points.
More to come on this story.
