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Sidelined by a hip flexor injury the past few days, Jazz rookie Rodney Hood spent extra time this week honing his best skill: shooting the basketball. So when the swingman from Duke finally made his preseason debut Monday, it didn't take him long to find his groove.

After missing his first attempt, an 18-footer that bounced off the front iron, Hood didn't hesitate in firing up a 3-pointer from the corner the next time the ball touched his hands.

"I was a little anxious," he'd admit afterward. "A little nervous. When that one went down, I just relaxed a little bit and it came to me."

Hood showed off his range with a pair of triples, and later showcased his athleticism by getting the basket. In the end, his 12-point affair helped propel the Utah Jazz to a 102-89 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was the sort of night offensively that Jazz officials envisioned when they drafted Hood with the 23rd pick in June. But it also showed the work that Hood, and the rest of this young Jazz team, still have left to do.

Utah came out hot, sinking six first-quarter 3s.

Hood, Gordon Hayward, Trey Burke, Dante Exum and even forward Trevor Booker got in on the act, pushing the Jazz lead to as much as 19.

The Clippers, coming off a loss in Portland the night before and opting to sit veterans Matt Barnes and Jamal Crawford, battled back.

All-Star forward Blake Griffin dropped 31 points on the Jazz. And Hood's defensive assignment, fellow Dukie J.J. Redick, helped shoot the Clippers back into the game.

"It reminded me of watching him from Duke," Hood said. "Just always running around. He's a great player. A very professional shooter. There's not many of those around."

Redick ran Hood through screen after screen en route to 17 points, which helped cut the deficit to single-digits.

"He worked defensively at times," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of Hood. "It's hard to chase J.J. Redick. That was good for him to have good that. A couple times he ran into screens. A couple times he got discouraged and didn't keep competing after the play."

The coach made sure his player heard about it.

"He got on me about contesting shots," Hood said.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers played his starters at least 25 minutes, but sat them down the stretch even as the game remained within reach.

"They're in a different place than we are," Snyder acknowledged. "They're contending for an NBA championship and we're trying to grow and get better and play the right way."

But as the Jazz improved to 3-0 in the preseason, Snyder was, by and large, pleased with his team's effort once again.

Utah held L.A. to just seven fast-break points.

Derrick Favors finished with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double. Point guard Trey Burke ran the pick-and-roll with increasing prowess, finishing with a team-high 16 points and eight assists. Center Rudy Gobert came off the bench to grab 20 rebounds.

And Hood, in his debut, showed effort and promise.

For a Jazz team just trying to find its way, those are the things that matter right now. —

Storylines

• Utah improves to 3-0 in the exhibition season, while the Clippers fall to 0-3.

• The Jazz go 14 for 30 from long range in the win.

• Rookie point guard Dante Exum has nine points but commits eight turnovers. JAZZ 102, CLIPPERS 89

FG FT Reb

L.A.C. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Douglas-Roberts 30:38 1-5 2-3 0-4 1 1 4

Griffin 29:46 14-22 3-4 1-5 1 0 31

Jordan 25:53 3-4 0-1 1-8 0 5 6

Paul 29:07 4-13 2-2 1-2 11 1 11

Redick 29:37 6-11 4-4 0-2 3 0 17

Farmar 16:08 2-6 0-0 0-1 0 1 5

Bullock 16:14 0-4 0-0 1-2 0 0 0

Hawes 18:31 2-7 1-2 0-3 0 3 6

Davis 18:14 1-3 2-2 1-2 2 2 4

Wilcox 16:24 0-3 1-2 0-1 1 0 1

Cunningham 4:44 0-2 1-2 0-1 0 0 1

Ingles 4:44 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 3

Totals 240:00 34-81 16-22 5-32 19 13 89

Percentages: FG .420, FT .727. 3-Point Goals: 5-18, .278 (Hawes 1-1, Ingles 1-1, Farmar 1-2, Paul 1-2, Redick 1-2, Cunningham 0-1, Bullock 0-2, Griffin 0-2, Wilcox 0-2, Douglas-Roberts 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 9 (11 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Jordan 4, Hawes). Turnovers: 8 (Farmar 3, Douglas-Roberts 2, Griffin, Jordan, Paul). Steals: 9 (Davis 2, Griffin 2, Cunningham, Douglas-Roberts, Hawes, Jordan, Paul). Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb

Utah Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Hayward 26:47 4-8 0-0 1-6 4 0 10

Kanter 19:42 2-9 1-2 1-4 3 2 5

Favors 24:34 7-13 1-2 3-11 3 2 15

Burke 26:00 6-11 0-0 0-1 8 0 16

Hood 32:41 5-8 0-0 0-2 2 3 12

Booker 19:42 4-7 0-1 1-3 2 3 10

Jones 15:54 0-2 0-0 0-2 0 3 0

Exum 22:00 3-5 0-0 0-1 4 4 9

Gobert 21:54 5-9 1-2 4-20 0 1 11

Clark 20:38 2-5 2-2 0-1 3 1 7

Evans 8:37 3-4 1-3 2-4 1 1 7

Cooley 1:31 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Totals 240:00 41-81 6-12 12-55 30 21 102

Percentages: FG .506, FT .500. 3-Point Goals: 14-30, .467 (Burke 4-8, Exum 3-5, Booker 2-3, Hayward 2-3, Hood 2-3, Clark 1-2, Favors 0-1, Jones 0-2, Kanter 0-3). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 18 (18 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Booker, Jones). Turnovers: 17 (Exum 8, Jones 4, Kanter 2, Burke, Clark, Hayward). Steals: 5 (Gobert 2, Burke, Hayward, Hood). Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 5:09 third.

L.A. Clippers 22 17 35 15 — 89

Utah 28 28 25 21 — 102

Attendance • 19,319

Time • 2:04.

Officials • Joe Crawford, Leroy Richardson, Justin Van Duyne.