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Will the road team win in game in the Los Angeles Clippers–Utah Jazz Western Conference NBA semifinal series? It hasn’t happened yet, and the Jazz are slight favorites on the NBA odds for Game 5 back in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.

How to Bet Clippers at Jazz NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 10 PM ET
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio:com

Why Bet on LA Clippers?

After losing the first two games of this series in Utah, the Clippers won the next two in Los Angeles both easily. It was 118-104 in Game 4 on Monday and not really even that close.

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. He sat out the final minutes of the game with what appeared to be a minor knee injury. Leonard grabbed at his right knee after the play and exited the contest with 4:35 remaining and did not return. “I’m good,” Leonard said when asked about his knee. “Next question.” Clipper coach Ty Lue said he believes Leonard will be good to go for Game 5. “Yeah, I think so,” Lue said. “Yeah, I think everybody is pretty good.”

Paul George had 31 points, nine rebounds and four assists. George and Leonard are the 5th duo since the 1976-77 NBA-ABA merger with 30 points each in back-to-back playoff games.

“Oh, we’re a different team,” Lue said when asked about the importance of Paul George getting going offensively. “We know that. It’s been like that all season long.”

Marcus Morris had his best game of the series with 24 points and six rebounds. Morris has been hunting for his shot lately: The Clippers’ third-leading scorer during the regular season (13.4 ppg) has seen his production (10.3 ppg) and shooting (47.3% to 33.3%) tail off in the first 10 games of the playoffs. He entered Game 4 on an epic slump, just 1 for 16 from behind the arc against the Jazz.

“It’s basketball, man,” he said. “You’re going to get hot and you’re going to get some shots. But it’s about staying level and not getting too down on yourself and just continue to go forward. If I’m not getting shots on the court, hey, do something else on the court that’s going to show my impact.”

Lue’s decision to go small in the last two games has paid dividends, as Jazz center Rudy Gobert has been forced to come out of the paint and guard on the perimeter at times. Gobert’s lack of lateral quickness and size makes him a vulnerable defender when he is on the perimeter.

Why Bet on Utah?

Utah All-Star guard Mike Conley missed Game 4 and hasn’t played since tweaking his hamstring on June 2. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to make it back during this series. In the hours before Game 4, coach Quin Snyder said Conley is “making progress” towards a potential return.

In losing Game 4, the Jazz led 2-0 on a Bojan Bogdanovic dunk. Kawhi Leonard hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and the Clippers never trailed again. The Jazz were down 24 at the half. Utah was able to cut 10 points off the Clippers’ halftime lead in large part because of the activity of Rudy Gobert, but then head coach Quin Snyder went with his usual sub pattern of taking Gobert out at the 6:36 mark in the third. The Clippers immediately pushed the lead back to 20 points.

“I think we have to take some of the things that we did do well and we have to find a way to replicate them,” Snyder said. “I think it’s hard to give up 38 free throws and overcome some of the things that we did tonight. In order to do that, we have to be perfect on the other end, and we weren’t that, either. I think we were playing hard, but we weren’t playing smart. And we weren’t connected, and that showed in the 13-point first quarter. We didn’t put ourselves in situations to be successful.”

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell played through a tweaked ankle in Game 4 but still managed a game-high 37 points with five rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes. Mitchell did take some tough falls where he came up gimpy, but for the most part, the ankle did not seem to bother him.

Mitchell has now recorded 30+ points in 6 consecutive playoff games, tying Karl Malone for the longest streak in Jazz history. Mitchell is also the third player in NBA history to make 5+ threes in 5 straight postseason games, joining Steph Curry (2015) and Klay Thompson (2016).

Gobert finished with 11 points and just eight rebounds with one block. Gobert was basically taken out of the equation by the Clippers who went primarily with a small-ball lineup. Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson had just eight points on 3-for-12 shooting.

Utah did win the first two games of this series at home vs. the Clippers without Conley.

Game Trends

Clippers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games playing on 1 days rest.
Clippers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Clippers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog.
Jazz are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite.
Jazz are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Clippers are 5-11 ATS in the last 16 meetings.