Jazz-Clippers blog: Clippers win 4 straight to upset Jazz in Game 6

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz are back on the road to play the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals Friday night.

The Jazz are coming off a 119-111 loss to the Clippers at home — a loss that gave the Clippers a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series and one step closer to the Western Conference Finals.

Click here for live stats after tipoff at 8:00 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Follow live reaction and commentary below.

Friday, 10:39 pm

Clippers get it done

Ah, what a difference in halves.In the first half, there was no stopping the Jazz as they built up a 22-point lead and looked to be steering the ship for the first time in four games to force a Game 7.But someone forgot to tell Terance Mann and the Clippers that double-digit leads are insurmountable. Instead, Mann led an incredible second-half comeback to finish with a game-high 39 points to send LA to its first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance in franchise history with a 131-119 win over the top-seeded Jazz.Utah led by 3 points going into the fourth quarter, but LA had the momentum. And that momentum only continued as the Clippers built up a double-digit lead late in the game. By then, it was too little, too late as the Jazz didn't have enough left in the tank to overcome a one-time 25-point lead that was so quickly erased.Donovan Mitchell, who turned his ankle again with 1:08 left to play and came up wincing in pain to shoot free throws, finished with a team-high 39 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Jordan Clarkson and Royce O'Neale each added 21 points apiece in the loss.Beyond Mann's incredible 39-point performance, Paul George had 28 points and Reggie Jackson added 27 points to build on the Clippers' second-half scoring onslaught.In the end, the Clippers made 22 corner 3-pointers to beat a Jazz defense that struggled to counter the attack.— Josh Furlong, KSL.com

Friday, 10:12 pm

There goes that Mann! Unexpected hero cuts 25-point Jazz lead to almost nothing

On the first possession of the quarter, Donovan Mitchell stepped back onto the Los Angeles Clippers' logo and drained the 33-foot bomb.A good omen for the Jazz, right?Hardly.That long 3-pointer gave the Jazz a 25-point lead; they ended the quarter up 94-91.How? Well, let's have Mark Jackson explain: "Mama, there goes that Mann!"Terance Mann had 20 points in the quarter to lead a 17-0 Clippers run that saw the Jazz's lead vanish in the midst of layups and wide-open corner 3s.So how has Mann suddenly turned into Kawhi Leonard? It turns out, NBA players can make open shots. The Jazz have sagged Rudy Gobert off Mann, allowing Gobert to patrol the paint and stop LA's penetration.The theory was sound: Utah can keep its regular defense and Mann, known as mostly a defensive specialist, wasn't going to be able to punish them that much. Or that's at least what they thought.Mann was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and then was 4 of 5 in the paint.The Clippers as a team shot 71% in the quarter and now the Jazz are in a dog fight for their season.— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Friday, 09:26 pm

Jordan Clarkson experience lives in LA

The NBA's sixth man of the year, Jordan Clarkson, went full flamethrower in the second quarter for the Jazz and scored all of his 21 points to pace Utah to a double-digit lead.Clarkson couldn't miss — OK, so he went 8 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 3 from deep — as he became the most impressive player on the court to pace the Jazz to an 18-point lead.When he cooled down — if you can call it that — Donovan Mitchell picked up where Clarkson left off and scored two back-to-back deep 3-pointers to push the lead to as much as 21 points against the home team.The fans in attendance, who are looking to see the Clippers advance to their first-ever Western Conference Finals, had nothing to do but remain silent and watch as the Jazz dismantled LA to take a 72-50 lead into the halftime break.And though the offense was clicking in the second quarter, it was also Utah's defense that stifled LA's ability to cut into the double-digit Jazz lead. It was the cliche of good offense translating to good defense and vice versa.In all, it led to a positive result for the Jazz, who had to play Mike Conley for only 12 minutes in the first half.Mitchell leads the Jazz with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists; and Clarkson has 21 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Paul George and Terance Mann both have 14 points apiece to lead the Clippers.— Josh Furlong, KSL.com

currently: pic.twitter.com/oB3HPJYzQY
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) June 19, 2021

Friday, 08:55 pm

Mitchell's 16-point 1st quarter gives Jazz small early lead

Following Game 5, Donovan Mitchell said he had to figure out how to play below the rim.It looks like he cracked that code.Mitchell, hurt ankle and all, scored 16 points on 6-of -1 shooting, including 3 of 4 from the 3-point line, to lead the Jazz to a 33-31 lead after the first quarter.After having just five field goal attempts inside the 3-point line on Wednesday, Mitchell was on the attack again, finding ways to create space even without his usual explosiveness. That didn't just set up scoring opportunities for himself, but his teammates as well. Mitchell had two assists in the first 12 minutes.Mike Conley had 2 points and an assist in his first action since re-injuring his right hamstring in early June."He has a presence on the court is one thing and he is able to get into the paint, which helps Donovan and gets our other guys involved," Quin Snyder said in an ESPN interview following the quarter.Rudy Gobert had to go back to the locker room to be checked after a hard landing when he bit on a pump fake. He returned to the court shortly after, but appeared to be moving gingerly.— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Friday, 07:49 pm

Donovan Mitchell cleared to play in Game 6

The Utah Jazz are whole again, or at least closer to it.The team announced about 30 minutes before game time that Donovan Mitchell will play in Game 6.So for the first time in the Western Conference semifinals, the Jazz will have their regular starting lineup against the Los Angeles Clippers.Mitchell had been questionable with a right sore ankle."Donovan's been playing through pain from the beginning of the playoffs," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.In spite of that pain, Mitchell has averaged 34 points, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds against the Clippers.The Jazz will start Mitchell, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert and Royce O'Neale. The Jazz haven't lost in the playoffs when all five of those players have played.Mitchell and Conley, who'll make his series debut in Game 6, won't be at 100%, but Snyder said their presence alone will be able to have an impact on the game."Those guys are the two guys that, particularly in this series, allow us to break the defense down," he said. "They create offense for other people. So they may not be able to finish as well as they can normally, but just their presence on the court and their ability to handle the ball really impacts our team — our team's built that way."— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Friday, 07:18 pm

Mike Conley will play in Game 6

Mike Conley's long wait is over. The Jazz starting point guard is available to play in Friday's Game 6.Conley went through warmups ahead of the win-or-go-home game, and the Jazz medical staff determined that he was ready to make his series debut.Conley re-injured his right hamstring in Utah's close out win in Game 5 against Memphis on June 2.The Jazz are still awaiting word on whether Donovan Mitchell will play.— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Friday, 07:00 pm

Conley and Mitchell's status for Game 6 still not decided

Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley's status for Friday's Game 6 is still undecided.The All-Star guard line will both go through warmups ahead of the game before a final decision is made.Conley (right hamstring staring) and Mitchell (right ankle soreness) were listed as questionable on the team's injury report Thursday. Conley has yet to play a game in the series, while Mitchell has dealt with obvious pain for the last three games (all Jazz losses)."They won't be out there if there's a risk of something more substantial occurring when they're playing," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.While both will likely be game-time decisions, there are positive signs.In each of the first five games of the series, Conley had been ruled out long before pregame warmups, and Mitchell sent his customary "LETS GO!" tweet out, signaling he's planning on playing.And even Mitchell and Conley at less than 100% (and, to be clear, they would be) that would still give the Jazz a much better chance of extending the series."Both those guys are the two guys that, particularly in this series, allow us to break the defense down," Snyder said. "They create offense for other people, so they may not be able to finish as well as they can normally but just their presence on the court and their ability to handle the ball really impacts our team."When you remove those guys," he continued, "it has a big impact on how we play. So I think the impact that they have, even if they're not at their best, is still substantial particularly in this series and the way that the Clippers guard and the fact that they're playing small and switching so much."— Ryan Miller, KSL.com

Friday, 06:47 pm

Since last time

Quin Snyder still optimistic heading into win-or-go-home Game 6

From the comments: It's time to air some grievances after the Game 5 no-show from the Jazz

'We didn't do all this to lose': Mitchell is grounded but determined to play through it

Down 1 star, Paul George showed he's another as Clippers push Jazz toward edge

Jazz pushed to brink of elimination as Clippers win 3rd straight to take 3-2 series lead

Friday, 06:35 pm

How to watch, stream, listen to Game 6

𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝟐, 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝟔

⏰: 8:00 PM MT
📺: @ESPN
📻: @ZoneSportsNet
🎧: https://t.co/6CCJdrsbdE
🍿: @vivintarena watch party: https://t.co/yYH9zxIrSn #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/38h1mEaO9Y
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) June 18, 2021

Jazz-Clippers blog: Clippers win 4 straight to upset Jazz in Game 6

By KSL.com Sports | Updated - June 18, 2021 at 10:44 p.m. | Posted - June 18, 2021 at 6:58 p.m.

Clippers get it done

There goes that Mann! Unexpected hero cuts 25-point Jazz lead to almost nothing

Jordan Clarkson experience lives in LA

Mitchell's 16-point 1st quarter gives Jazz small early lead

Donovan Mitchell cleared to play in Game 6

Mike Conley will play in Game 6

Conley and Mitchell's status for Game 6 still not decided

Since last time

How to watch, stream, listen to Game 6

Most recent Utah Jazz stories

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Jazz-Clippers blog: Clippers win 4 straight to upset Jazz in Game 6

By KSL.com Sports | Updated - June 18, 2021 at 10:44 p.m. | Posted - June 18, 2021 at 6:58 p.m.

Clippers get it done

There goes that Mann! Unexpected hero cuts 25-point Jazz lead to almost nothing

Jordan Clarkson experience lives in LA

Mitchell's 16-point 1st quarter gives Jazz small early lead

Donovan Mitchell cleared to play in Game 6

Mike Conley will play in Game 6

Conley and Mitchell's status for Game 6 still not decided

Since last time

How to watch, stream, listen to Game 6

Most recent Utah Jazz stories

Lauri Markkanen is eager to win, and he'd like that to be with the Jazz

A fan base is waiting in Utah; but first, Coyotes get chance to say goodbye to Arizona

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More stories you may be interested in

'At least I'll be able to imagine': Jazz will watch playoffs with a focused eye

Hardy thankful for 'most loyal fans' in NBA as Jazz snap 13-game losing skid

How a Utah Jazz coach started a league-wide autism awareness initiative

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KSL Weather Forecast