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Utah Jazz advance to second round with Game 7 victory over Los Angeles Clippers

By Forrest Lee, The Sports Xchange
Derrick Favors had 17 points off the bench as the Utah Jazz eliminated the LA Clippers in Game 7 on Sunday. The Jazz will face the Golden State Warriors next. Photo courtesy Utah Jazz via Twitter.
Derrick Favors had 17 points off the bench as the Utah Jazz eliminated the LA Clippers in Game 7 on Sunday. The Jazz will face the Golden State Warriors next. Photo courtesy Utah Jazz via Twitter.

LOS ANGELES -- Gordon Hayward scored 26 points and collected eight rebounds to lead seven Utah players in double figures, and the Jazz eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers from the Western Conference playoffs with a 104-91 victory in Game 7 on Sunday at Staples Center.

George Hill and Derrick Favors contributed 17 points apiece as the Jazz advanced to the second round, where they will meet the Golden State Warriors. Game 1 is Tuesday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

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Favors also grabbed 11 rebounds before fouling out with 5:24 remaining to fill a void left by Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who also was plagued by fouls. Gobert finished with one point and four rebounds in 13 minutes.

Joe Ingles had 12 points, Rodney Hood scored 11 and Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw had 10 each for Utah.

The Jazz won three of their four games on the Clippers' home court.

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DeAndre Jordan had 24 points and 17 boards to lead the Clippers. Jamal Crawford added 20 points and Chris Paul scored 13 points and handed out nine assists.

The Jazz used a third-quarter spurt to grab a double-digit lead and retained it for almost the rest of the contest. A 3-pointer by J.J. Redick with 3:28 remaining closed the gap to 98-90, but the Clippers got no closer.

A 10-0 run put the Jazz up 61-44 after a jumper by Hill with 6:48 left in the third quarter. They increased the margin to 71-50 after Favors tipped in a Hayward miss with 3:23 remaining.

By the end of the third, the Jazz held a 79-63 edge.

The Jazz led 46-39 at the break.

Clippers forward Paul Pierce played his final NBA game. Pierce scored six points in 21 minutes.

NOTES: The Jazz are 3-2 all-time in Game 7 matchups, while the Clippers are 3-4. ... Utah defeated Los Angeles for the third time in three postseason meetings. In the previous two meetings, the Jazz prevailed in a pair of best-of-five series, winning 3-2 in 1992 and sweeping the Clippers in 1997. ... Game 2 is Thursday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., before the series shifts to Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and May 8.

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