It was a comeback for the ages.
The Los Angeles Clippers erased a 25-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Utah Jazz 131-119 in Game 6 Friday night. With the win, the Clippers took the series 4-2, winning four consecutive games in the process and advanced to their first-ever Western Conference finals.
Playing without Kawhi Leonard for the second consecutive game, the Clippers got a surprise performance from Terance Mann, who scored a career-high 39 points, including shooting 7-for-10 from 3-point range. Paul George had another big night as he scored 28 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. Reggie Jackson added 27 points and 10 assists in the win.
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The Jazz, who had Mike Conley back in the lineup for the first time since Game 5 of their first-round series against the Grizzlies, were led by Donovan Mitchell who just missed out on a triple-double with 39 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Conley finished with just five points on 1-for-8 shooting in 26 minutes.
The double-digit deficit didn’t faze the Clippers who had just come back from a 10-point deficit on the road in Game 5. Down 25 points in the second half at home, the Clippers rallied, posting the largest comeback victory by a team in a series-clinching win over the last 25 seasons.
It was the second time in franchise history that the Jazz have blown a 25-point lead in a postseason game. Meanwhile, the Clippers are the first team in NBA history to rally from a pair of 2-0 series deficits in the same postseason.
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“You felt the monkey off of the Clippers’ back in terms of getting out of the second round,” said George after the game. “It was just a special night. You know, you felt it, the cheers, the excitement.”
The Clippers couldn’t miss in the second half as they shot 30-of-42 from the field in the third and fourth quarters, including 14-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Clippers outscored the Jazz 81-47 in the second half.
Just like Game 5, The Jazz couldn’t miss from downtown in the first half, shooting 12-of-19 from beyond the arc, but went cold in the second half again, going 9-of-25.
