Jazz's Corbin says Clippers' 38-point first quarter was game-changer

Los Angeles — Official postgame quotes following the Jazz's 105-96 loss to the Clippers on Saturday.

Jazz Head Coach Tyrone Corbin RE: Overall thoughts on tonight's game "It's tough. You can't give up 38 points on the road in a quarter. Their confidence was growing when they were up 16 points in the first quarter. We fought back enough to give ourselves a chance, but it just wasn't enough to get over the hump." Jazz Head Coach Tyrone Corbin RE: Playing seven games in ten nights "We have been on a tough run here. We were on the road for three games and we came home for an overtime game, and guys are tired. But we have to be a little more diligent about our defensive assignments, especially on the road. When you give a team 38 points in the first quarter it is tough to come back." Jazz Head Coach Tyrone Corbin RE: On the Clippers three-point shooting "They made their shots. We did the right thing and we wanted to keep the guys on the perimeter. But with the extra rotation, they had a couple of guys wide open who knocked down their shots. They got some easy looks and hit some big shots. But we wanted to keep the game close, and we did a good of doing that for most of the game." Jazz Forward Paul Millsap RE: On tonight's loss "There is no excuse for us losing this game. They just didn't miss shots. We had guys in their faces, and they just didn't miss." Jazz Forward Paul Millsap RE: Getting off to a slow start "This goes along with things we have been talking about all year, like not getting down on the road. We can't do this especially against good teams, because it will come back to haunt us." Jazz Guard Devin Harris RE: On the Clippers 38-point first quarter "They hit a lot of perimeter shots. We kept them out of the paint as best we could, but I think they hit nine threes in the first half. It is tough when they shoot the ball like that at a high rate. It was tough to come back from. They got into a rhythm early and we spent a lot of energy coming back. We didn't get enough stops and our defense was not good enough to win the game."

Clippers Head Coach Vinny Del NegroRE: Overall thoughts on tonight's game"It was a good, solid win for us. I though we got off to a very good start and shot the ball much better tonight, especially from deep. That opened up some things for us and we took control of the game. We had a lot of good performances. We let them back in on a couple of runs, but then we responded well. Overall, it was a solid effort by us."Clippers Head Coach Vinny Del NegroRE: Team's play in the first half"I thought our ball movement was good in the first half. I am proud of the way our guys moved it early. We got some really good, open looks and we got after them. We set the tone early and had a big first quarter scoring 38 points. That set the tone for us. They made a couple of runs, but we withstood it. Overall, I thought our ball movement was good. We turned it over a little bit too much in the second half, but overall we controlled the tempo pretty well."Clippers Head Coach Vinny Del NegroRE: Playing the Dallas Mavericks on Monday"I am pleased with our home stand obviously. We battled through some things and every game is difficult. Dallas is a championship team for a reason and we'll go there, have a good game plan and be ready to go. We'll enjoy this win for a minute and then lock into that."Clippers Head Coach Vinny Del NegroRE: Play of Clippers forward Blake Griffin"I thought Blake [Griffin's] demeanor and composure were great. He had good control of himself tonight. I liked when he was attacking the basket. He was very efficient and really did a good job with six assists, moving the basketball. They came on the traps off the cutters, but he did a good job dribbling out of them and getting the ball to the weak side."Clippers Head Coach Vinny Del NegroRE: Team effort"I thought Eric [Bledsoe] came in and gave us some good minutes when Chris [Paul] went down. He controlled the tempo and got us up and down the court. We got some easy baskets and Blake [Griffin] took over. It was a good solid, team effort from everybody. I thought Kenyon [Martin's] defense was good, poking balls away and being efficient down there for us."Clippers Guard Eric BledsoeRe: Subbing in for Chris Paul"I've been working out and working on my game. I was ready for the moment. When the moment came, Chris [Paul] got hurt a little bit, so I tried to just fill the role and keep the lead and tempo going."Clippers Guard Eric BledsoeRe: Playing 20 games in 31 days"It means less practice and more games. We just try to get our rest, and take it a game at a time."Clippers Guard Chris PaulRe: Getting a key win in the Western Conference"We really needed this win. Utah isn't that far behind us. As you can see, the Western Conference is bunched up from 4 [seed] through 11. Right now, every win is valuable. We've had a pretty good home record this year. Our fans, we're grateful and thankful for them. We love playing at home."Clippers Forward Blake GriffinRe: Tonight's play"We came out with the right defensive mindset. We were hitting shots too. That really attributed to our early lead. I thought we did a good job defensively, it slipped here and there, but overall it was much better.Clippers Forward Blake GriffinRe: Going 5-0 during this home stand"It's great. We needed it. It gave us a little bit of breathing room, but we can't relax at all. We have to keep that going."The Salt Lake Tribune

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