Jazz finish off the Clippers in Game 7: 3 takeaways

The Jazz broke the game open in the third quarter and secured a 104-91 victory in Game 7. The Clippers lost at home and face an offseason with plenty of questions.

This had been a tightly contested series through six games, and few expected a near blowout in Game 7.  But Utah brought a 44-39 lead into halftime and built on that in the second half. Seemingly everyone was hitting for them in the third quarter, and they eventually built up a 21-point lead on the road. Jamal Crawford and DeAndre Jordan had big fourth quarters for the Clippers to chip away at the lead, but it wasn’t enough. The Jazz secured an anti-climactic victory on the road to advance to the second round and face the Golden State Warriors.

Gordon Hayward continued his strong play in this series and led all scorers with 26 points. Six other members of the Jazz managed to score double-digit points; this was a team effort. Utah out-rebounded the Clippers and shot better in every aspect in their convincing win. DeAndre Jordan had 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers. This included 6-of-15 shooting at the line as Utah fouled him frequently. Jamal Crawford chipped in 20 points as Chris Paul had his worst game of the series.

Takeaways

Derrick Favors is here to play: Rudy Gobert was limited to 13 minutes today with foul trouble. Derrick Favors stepped up in his absence. He scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and snagged 11 rebounds. His performance was important in securing a victory despite Gobert’s struggles. The game could have had a much different outcome had he not stepped up the way he had.

Favors has been battling a knee injury all season. His scoring was cut nearly in half from the previous season largely as a result of his debilitated play. The injury is the biggest reason that Boris Diaw has been starting at power forward. Favors will likely mostly spell Gobert against Golden State, and it is comforting to Jazz fans that he can rise to the occasion when needed. They may need this performance again this season.

Paul Pierce played his final game: It is now a closed book on the Truth. The ten-time All-Star has had a long and storied career, which culminated in a Finals MVP performance in 2008. Pierce will retire as the NBA’s 15th all-time scorer, just slightly behind Tim Duncan. The question isn’t whether or not Pierce will be a Hall of Fame player, but whether or not he makes it on the first ballot.

Pierce’s play declined gradually. He was really a role player by the time he was traded to the Nets in 2013 and was no longer a starter by the time he joined the Clippers in 2015. He accepted these facts as they came and it allowed him to accept a role and extend his career in pursuit of another championship. Not all former superstars have the ego that would allow them to do that. He played 21 minutes and scored six points tonight, actually better than his season production. Pierce didn’t make a statement in his final game and may go quietly as a result. But the NBA is thankful for all of the hard work he has put in over the years and will remember him.

Clippers may be at a breaking point: The ultimate goal for any NBA franchise is a championship. When teams consistently win 50 games but fail to contend for the Conference Finals or ever make the Finals, it is usually assumed that their core can’t make up a title winner. The Clippers have been in that spot for years now, and could be broken up after this season. They have had poor luck in the playoffs but most believe that their current core won’t win a title together.

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The current publicly stated intention of Doc Rivers is to keep the Clippers together, regardless of this year’s playoff result. But he isn’t the only decision maker this offseason. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul can opt into free agency and J.J. Redick is an unrestricted free agent as well. All of them need to decide that they want to stay together and run this thing back again, or else Los Angeles may look very different next year. It will be an interesting summer for them.