LOS ANGELES: Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 12 rebounds, Paul George added 31 points and the Los Angeles Clippers got back into their second-round series against the Utah Jazz with a 132-106 victory in Game 3 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Leonard and George each scored at least 30 in the same playoff game for the second time to help the Clippers cut Utah's series lead to 2-1.
George shot only 34.3 percent from the field in the first two games but was 12 of 24, including 6 of 10 on 3-pointers. He had 13 points in the second quarter, eight during a 13-2 run when LA seized control and took a 57-41 advantage with 2:54 remaining in the first half.
Leonard scored 24 points in the second half. Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum added 17 points apiece for the Clippers.
Game 4 is Monday (Tuesday in Manila) at Staples Center.
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 30 points, his fifth straight game with at least 30. The last player to do that was Leonard last year in the first round against Dallas.
Joe Ingles had 19 points for Utah and Jordan Clarkson added 14. The Jazz were 19 of 44 on 3-pointers, but 17 of 40 inside the arc as the Clippers' zone defense caused problems.
Mitchell missed his first four shots, including a pair of drives to the basket, and didn't make his first basket until there was 7:34 left in the second quarter. He then proceeded to score Utah's next 16 points, which included four 3-pointers.
It was the first time in his last 23 games that Mitchell had gone scoreless in the first quarter.
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (left) reaches for a rebound along with Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard during the second half of Game 3 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series on June 12, 2021 (June 13 in Manila) in Los Angeles. AP PHOTO
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