The Clippers were supposed to be without Baron Davis for the second consecutive game, as he was still recovering from a hip injury that he sustained during Friday night's loss to the Denver Nuggets. Baron surprised Clipper fans however by suiting up and playing 32 minutes off the bench, but it wasn't enough to prevent his team from falling to 0-4 on the season.
Davis played well for the team overall, despite what you might see in the box score when you look at his 5-15 shooting from the field. Baron hit three of his seven three-point attempts, and finished with nine assists and two steals. The Clippers were also fortunate enough to get Marcus Camby onto the court, after he'd sat out up until this point with a bruised heel. Camby played 27 minutes, and contributed five points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots.
L.A. was competitive in this game through three quarters, trailing by just six points as the teams began the fourth. But Utah's Paul Millsap went on an absolute tear, personally outscoring the Clippers 15-13 in the final period to seal this one for the Jazz.
Besides Millsap's strong play, if you're looking for another reason the Clippers let this one get away, you can look no further than the free throw line. While L.A. made just nine of their 20 foul shots, the Jazz sank 25-31 of their free throw attempts. The difference between the two teams' made free throws was 16, which, not so coincidentally, was also Utah's final margin of victory.
It was nice to see Baron Davis and Marcus Camby finally on the court together for the Clippers. But it's obviously going to take some time before the two new pieces are able to mesh completely with their teammates. Unfortunately, time is something they don't have on their side, as they'll face the Lakers for the second time in this early season on Wednesday.
