Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 88-72 victory over the Utah Jazz

There was a sequence at the very beginning of the game that demonstrated just how engaged Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was going to be.

Jordan blocked a shot by Utah center Rudy Gobert on the Jazz’s third possession of the game, then sprinted down court, got deep position on Gobert and demanded the ball.

Once he got Gobert on his back, Jordan accepted a pass from Austin Rivers and delivered with a right-handed hook shot over the 7-foot-1 Utah big man who has a 7-3 wingspan.

The left-handed Jordan had his teammates on the bench leaping out of their seats.

By game’s end, Jordan had just 10 points, but he had set a tone. He also had 13 rebounds, three blocks and was a plus-27.

2. Rivers had a stretch late in the second quarter in which he was The Man, hitting back-to-back three-pointers, helping the Clippers increase the lead.

After each three-ball he made, Rivers looked back at the Clippers’ bench knowingly.

Rivers had eight of his 15 points in the second quarter. For the game, he was six for 12 from the field, three for four from three-point range.

3. J.J. Redick missed his first five shots, his shooting slump appearing to continue. But then he made two straight jumpers, seemingly freeing himself of his woes.

He was just three for 10 from the field, two for seven from three-point range. But those two jumpers left the Clippers feeling good about Redick’s shooting.

4. For the first three quarters, the Clippers were dominant.

They had some slippage in the fourth, which was somewhat expected after they built a 29-point lead in the third. The Clippers’ lead was cut to 13 points in the fourth and were outscored, 23-12, during that quarter, but they were never really in trouble.

5. The Clippers shot just 44.4% from the field but held the Jazz to 32.2% shooting, 17.4% from the three-point line.

[email protected]

Twitter: @BA_Turner