Paul George, Kawhi Leonard lead Clippers past Jazz 132-106 in Game 3

Paul George broke out with 31 points and Kawhi Leonard recovered from a poor first half to finish with 34 points and 12 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers dominated the Utah Jazz 132-106 in Game 3 to cut the series deficit to 2-1. Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 30 points. The Clippers easily covered the 4.5-point spread. The over hit at 223.5.

Utah jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead, but the Clippers quickly evened the score at 10-10 and eventually held a 27-23 lead after the first quarter. Mitchell actually went scoreless in the period, but caught fire with 16 second-quarter points.

The Clippers withstood Mitchell’s onslaught with George and Reggie Jackson providing good perimeter shooting. Los Angeles closed the first half on a 20-10 run to hold a 15-point lead at the break. George and Jackson combined to go 8-12 from behind the arc and make up for Leonard’s 4-12 start from the field.

The teams remained close for much of the second half, but the Jazz cut the deficit to 10 after Mitchell hit a jump shot early in the fourth quarter. Utah had the chance to narrow the gap to single digits, but the Clippers got a steal and found Luke Kennard in the corner for three to stop the run. The Jazz responded with a three of their own, but George and Leonard made consecutive buckets to give the Clippers a sizable lead they wouldn’t give up. After a rough first half, Leonard shot 10-12 from the floor in the second half.

Mitchell appeared to land awkwardly after a layup midway through the quarter and appeared to hobble into the tunnel before returning to the bench. He would not come back in the game as the Clippers were well ahead and left the game with an ice pack wrapped around his leg.

The Jazz hit 19 threes in the game, but failed to provide enough secondary scoring around Mitchell. Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson combined to go 7-26 from the floor. Los Angeles matched Utah with 19 threes of its own, a huge factor in the rout.

Game 4 is Monday in Los Angeles at 10:00 PM ET.