Five takeaways from Clippers’ 107-101 win over Jazz

The Clippers beat the Utah Jazz, 107-101, on Monday night, finishing a stretch of four games in five nights to open the regular season. With the win, they improved to 3-1. Here are five takeaways from Monday’s game.

1. BRUISED BUT NOT DEFEATED Jamal Crawford, who missed Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings because of bruised ribs, finished with 19 points and five assists off the bench Monday. The reigning sixth man of the year had a highlight-reel assist in the third quarter. With 2 minutes 39 seconds left in the period, he made a no-look bounce pass to a trailing Blake Griffin, who slam-dunked the ball. Crawford also surpassed 15,000 points after making a floating jumper with 6:52 remaining.

2. PAUL GETS A TRIPLE-DOUBLE Chris Paul, who sustained a sprained left foot in Sunday’s game, had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds on Monday. Joked Griffin: “He did a great job of coming in and stealing some of our rebounds tonight.”

3. THE CLIPPERS BLOW A LEAD AGAIN The Clippers have blown double-digit leads in each of their four games this season, narrowly escaping defeat in all but one. On Monday against the Jazz, who finished with the worst record in the Western Conference last season, the Clippers blew a 15-point lead, and the game came down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Paul said the Clippers can’t keep allowing all of their games to be won down the stretch. Said Paul: “We can’t relax, we’ve got to get that killer mentality.”

4. CLIPPERS TO PLAY RIVALS The Clippers are playing at Golden State on Wednesday, the same team they beat in seven games in the first round of the playoffs last season. Chris Paul said the Warriors are playing like “a team on a mission.” Added Paul: “We already know after the playoffs last year that it’s going to be a fun environment Wednesday.”

5. IT’S GETTING HAIRY Some Clippers players, including Griffin and Paul, are growing mustaches to support prostate cancer awareness. Griffin, who finished with a game-high 31 points and nine rebounds, was asked if the mustache helps him on the court. Quite the contrary, he explained. Griffin joked that it makes him feel “inferior.”