Box Score

 

LA CLIPPERS (91)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
B Simmons           31   4-9   0-0   3-3   1   6    8
E Brand             40  4-12 11-12   2-6   5   4   19
C Kaman             36   2-4   1-2   2-7   1   4    5
M Jaric             36  7-13   2-2   1-3   6   1   18
C Maggette          36  9-14  9-10   1-5   2   4   28
M Moore             16   1-3   3-4   3-3   0   3    5
K Kittles           10   0-1   0-0   0-1   0   0    0
C Wilcox             4   1-2   0-0   0-0   0   0    2
R Brunson           12   2-6   0-0   1-3   0   4    4
Q Ross              19   1-4   0-0   2-3   0   2    2
Z Rebraca          DNP  - BACK SPASMS                                    
L Chalmers         DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             240 31-68 26-30 15-34  15  28   91
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.456, FT-.867. 3-Point Goals:
3-8, .375 (B Simmons 0-1, E Brand 0-1, C 
Kaman 0-1, M Jaric 2-2, C Maggette 1-2, M 
Moore 0-1). Team Rebounds: 11. Blocked 
Shots:8 (C Kaman 3, E Brand 2, C Maggette, M 
Moore, C Wilcox). Turnovers:14 (C Maggette 5,
E Brand 2, M Jaric 2, C Wilcox 2, R Brunson, 
Q Ross, C Kaman). Steals: 7 (R Brunson 2, E 
Brand 2, K Kittles, C Kaman, M Jaric).


UTAH (93)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
M Harpring          35   5-8   6-7   4-5   2   3   16
C Boozer            36  5-15   3-5   2-3   3   3   13
M Okur              35  6-10   7-8  7-13   2   3   19
C Arroyo            21   3-7   0-0   0-1   5   0    6
R Bell              28  4-13   3-4   2-3   2   5   12
C Borchardt         18   1-4   1-2   4-6   0   0    3
G Giricek           20   4-7   2-2   1-2   1   0   12
R Lopez             10   2-2   0-0   0-0   2   4    4
K Humphries         12   0-2   0-0   0-3   0   1    0
K Snyder             9   1-2   0-0   0-1   1   2    3
H Eisley            16   1-4   3-4   0-0   1   5    5
A Radojevic        DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             240 32-74 25-32 20-37  19  26   93
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.432, FT-.781. 3-Point Goals:
4-6, .667 (C Arroyo 0-2, R Bell 1-1, G 
Giricek 2-2, K Snyder 1-1). Team Rebounds: 8.
Blocked Shots:3 (M Okur, C Boozer, G 
Giricek). Turnovers:12 (C Boozer 3, H Eisley 
2, M Okur 2, K Humphries 2, R Lopez 2, G 
Giricek). Steals: 7 (H Eisley, C Arroyo, R 
Bell, C Borchardt, K Snyder, C Boozer, G 
Giricek).

-------------------------------------------
LA CLIPPERS           22  22  26  21  -   91
UTAH                  23  21  27  22  -   93
------------------------------------------- 

Technical fouls: Utah - 1 (R Lopez, 5:34 
2nd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 19,101. T: 2:20. 
Officials: Derek Collins, Derrick Stafford, 
Joe Crawford.

Extended Box

 

LA CLIPPERS (91) AT UTAH (93)

LA CLIPPERS

                                               REBOUNDS                        
PLAYER           POS  MIN  FGM-FGA  FTM-FTA  OFF-DEF-TOT  AST  PF  ST  TO  PTS
======           ===  ===  =======  =======  ===========  ===  ==  ==  ==  ===
 
B SIMMONS         F    31    4-9      0-0      3   0   3    1   6   0   0    8
E BRAND           F    40    4-12    11-12     2   4   6    5   4   2   2   19
C KAMAN           C    36    2-4      1-2      2   5   7    1   4   1   1    5
M JARIC           G    36    7-13     2-2      1   2   3    6   1   1   2   18
C MAGGETTE        G    36    9-14     9-10     1   4   5    2   4   0   5   28
M MOORE                16    1-3      3-4      3   0   3    0   3   0   0    5
K KITTLES              10    0-1      0-0      0   1   1    0   0   1   0    0
C WILCOX                4    1-2      0-0      0   0   0    0   0   0   2    2
R BRUNSON              12    2-6      0-0      1   2   3    0   4   2   1    4
Q ROSS                 19    1-4      0-0      2   1   3    0   2   0   1    2
Z REBRACA             DNP  - BACK SPASMS                                              
L CHALMERS            DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
  
TOTALS                240   31-68    26-30    15  19  34   15  28   7  14   91
                            (.456)  (.867)  TEAM REBS: 11 TOTAL TO: 14 (18 PTS)    

UTAH

                                               REBOUNDS                         
PLAYER           POS  MIN  FGM-FGA  FTM-FTA  OFF-DEF-TOT  AST  PF  ST  TO  PTS
======           ===  ===  =======  =======  ===========  ===  ==  ==  ==  ===
 
M HARPRING        F    35    5-8      6-7      4   1   5    2   3   0   0   16
C BOOZER          F    36    5-15     3-5      2   1   3    3   3   1   3   13
M OKUR            C    35    6-10     7-8      7   6  13    2   3   0   2   19
C ARROYO          G    21    3-7      0-0      0   1   1    5   0   1   0    6
R BELL            G    28    4-13     3-4      2   1   3    2   5   1   0   12
C BORCHARDT            18    1-4      1-2      4   2   6    0   0   1   0    3
G GIRICEK              20    4-7      2-2      1   1   2    1   0   1   1   12
R LOPEZ                10    2-2      0-0      0   0   0    2   4   0   2    4
K HUMPHRIES            12    0-2      0-0      0   3   3    0   1   0   2    0
K SNYDER                9    1-2      0-0      0   1   1    1   2   1   0    3
H EISLEY               16    1-4      3-4      0   0   0    1   5   1   2    5
A RADOJEVIC           DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
  
TOTALS                240   32-74    25-32    20  17  37   19  26   7  12   93
                            (.432)  (.781)  TEAM REBS:  8 TOTAL TO: 14 (16 PTS)    
  
   LA CLIPPERS        22   22   26   21   -   91
   UTAH               23   21   27   22   -   93
  
BLOCKED SHOTS: LA CLIPPERS - C KAMAN 3, E BRAND 2, C MAGGETTE, M MOORE,
C WILCOX.  UTAH - M OKUR, C BOOZER, G GIRICEK.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: LA CLIPPERS 3-8 (.375), B SIMMONS 0-1, E BRAND 0-
1, C KAMAN 0-1, M JARIC 2-2, C MAGGETTE 1-2, M MOORE 0-1. UTAH 4-6 (.
667), C ARROYO 0-2, R BELL 1-1, G GIRICEK 2-2, K SNYDER 1-1.
TECHNICAL FOULS: UTAH - R LOPEZ.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DEREK COLLINS, DERRICK STAFFORD, JOE CRAWFORD.
A - 19,101. T - 2:20.

Game Story

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) - Mehmet Okur made the Los Angeles
Clippers regret deliberately fouling him twice in the final
moments.

Okur had his second straight double-double and hit three
critical free throws in the final nine seconds to help the Utah
Jazz hold off the Clippers, 93-91.

"Mehmet's a good player, that's why we brought him in," Jazz
guard Raja Bell said.  "If he can continue to do those things
for us, especially the rebounding and the stuff that doesn't
especially show up on the stat sheet ... we'll be great."

Okur, who has seen his playing time increase following injuries
to Andrei Kirilenko and Jarron Collins, scored 19 points,
grabbed 13 rebounds and made 3-of-4 late free throws to ice the
victory.

Okur, who has connected on 84 percent of his free throws this
season, made 7-of-8 from the line against the Clippers.

"I thought (Okur) had a lot of good moments," Utah coach Jerry
Sloan said.  "I thought he did a pretty good job trying to stay
up on (Elton) Brand and tried not to let him get too deep in the
paint.  He's a good shooter if we can get him open at times ...
I liked a lot of the things he did."

After two free throws by Okur gave the Jazz a 92-89 lead, the
Clippers raced upcourt, only to have Bobby Simmons pass up a
3-pointer and pass to former Jazz center Mikki Moore for a dunk
with three seconds left, making it 92-91.

Clippers center Chris Kaman rebounded Okur's lone miss from the
foul line and made a desperation heave from 90 feet as time
expired because L.A. was out of timeouts.

Okur led a huge rebounding effort for the Jazz with seven of the
team's 20 offensive boards, and was the only player on either
team to reach double figures in the category.

"That's a testament to how hard he's working on the court," Bell
said.  "We're a team that's kind of blue-collar.  We like to
grind people down with our offense and try to punish them.  So
when (you're) offensive rebounding like that, you punish
somebody."

The Clippers, who have only one win all time at the Delta Center
in 27 tries, saw one of their best chances for a victory
disappear despite holding a lead well into the third quarter.

"It's just tough to play here,"  Clippers guard Corey Maggette
said.  "I know we can beat Utah.  We just came short once again.
We're always coming short in this arena."

Things started to go wrong for the Clippers late in the third
quarter.  Gordan Giricek scored eight points in a 13-2 run that
gave Utah a 77-72 lead with 10 minutes to play in the fourth.

Giricek got things started with a pair of free throws and also
knocked down a 3-pointer to pull the Jazz to within 70-69.
Moments later, Howard Eisley hit another jumper to give Utah the
lead.

"In the fourth, they came back in with the momentum," Maggette
said.  "And it's hard to stop teams when they have the momentum
going and they're hitting those shots."

Maggette scored 10 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter.  Four
times he scored to pull the Clippers to within one of the Jazz,
including a pair of free throws to make it 87-86 with 1:24
remaining.  But Los Angeles could not get over the hump.

Matt Harpring scored 16 points and Carlos Boozer added 13 as the
Jazz won their second straight home game following three losses
in a row here.

Sloan became the 10th person in NBA history to coach 1,500
games.  He is 927-573 in 20 seasons, including 17 with the Jazz.

"He's won that many games because he's fierce," Bell said.
"That's his personality.  He comes out to win every night.
Hopefully, that will rub off on our team.  I don't think we're
quite there yet."

Marko Jaric scored 18 points and had six assists for the
Clippers.  Brand added 19 points on just 4-of-12 shooting before
leaving with 23 seconds remaining with an eye contusion.  He is
listed as day-to-day.

"It's not bad," Brand said.  "I wouldn't say it's fractured.
It's not bad. It's just painful to open up.  It bled a little
bit."