SALT LAKE CITY - About 7,200 miles ago, the Los Angeles Clippers were stumbling and bumbling.After going 6-1 on an extended road trip, the Clippers have found their groove.We made it a business trip, Chris Paul said. We got out of our own way. We played a little bit more free and really moved the ball. Most of all, our defence was pretty good.Blake Griffin scored 28 points and Paul added 17 points and 10 assists to beat the Utah Jazz 112-96 on Saturday night and post their fourth straight win.Jamal Crawford scored 22 points and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 12 rebounds as the Clippers (11-5) finished the trip with an exclamation point.We executed our game plans on this trip, with the exception of Memphis (a 107-91 loss on Nov. 23). We got to our places on the floor. We made teams do what we wanted them to do, Griffin said.Gordon Hayward scored 30 points and Derrick Favours had 19 for the Jazz (5-12), who have lost a season-high five games in a row.I think the Clippers make everybody look a step slow right now. They put you in a lot of positions where a mistake costs you a basket or a layup, Utah coach Quin Snyder said.J.J. Redick had 13 points as the Clippers marked 12 consecutive victories over the Jazz with 56 per cent shooting.The Clippers now boast an NBA-best 5-0 record in the second half of back-to-back games.We got tired, but we just push through, Paul said.The Jazz closed within 98-86 in the fourth quarter on a couple hustle plays by Trevor Booker, including an emphatic follow dunk. But the Clippers countered with 3-pointers by Redick and Crawford — both on assists from Griffin.Especially late in games, thats what Im looking for. Thats what J.J. and Jamal do - they knock shots down. So that was huge, Griffin said.Griffins unselfishness didnt go unnoticed.What makes Blake so dangerous is his ability to pass the ball. When they started making that run, they tried to trap me and I just got it to Blake and its like hes a point guard, making the right passes, Paul said.Griffin scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Clippers tried to get this one over quickly and get some rest on their road trip finale.It was really important to jump on them because we know the Jazz arent going to quit at home, Griffin said.But the Jazz rallied behind Haywards 20 second-quarter points, the most in a quarter for a Jazz player this season.Haywards running hook trimmed the lead to 51-45, but the Clippers soon extended the advantage to 62-50 at halftime thanks to Crawfords last-second jumper and free throw.___TIP-INSClippers: Blake Griffin is third in the NBA with 29 points per game in the second half of back-to-backs. . Griffin got a technical for arguing an out-of-bounds call in the second quarter. ... The Clippers never trailed.Jazz: Alec Burks hurt his shoulder in first quarter while contesting a fast-break drive by Matt Barnes, and immediately went to the training room but returned and scored 12 points. ... Rodney Hood played for first time after missing 10 games with foot inflammation and scored two points but missed all six of his field goal attempts. . Booker had 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds.QUICK STARTBefore we even had the jump ball, we talked about it and said, Make sure we set the tone and make sure we set the pace, because this is a team that can play really well here at home, Paul said of the Clippers jumping out to a 35-15 lead.ROAD WARRIORSThe seven-game trip is the second-longest of the season for any team in terms of distance. It shows a lot of character because its hard to win on the road, it really is. People outside our locker room were panicking a little bit about us before we left. It shows our growth, for sure, Crawford said. Were carving out our identity.HAYWARD WITHOUT HELPHayward had never scored 20 points in a quarter before. His previous best was when he scored Utahs final 17 points in the fourth quarter of a win over Oklahoma City on Jan. 7, 2014. Problem was it came after the Jazz were so far down. We got ourselves in a hole and we had to fight back. Good thing happen when you play hard, Hayward said.UP NEXTClippers: Host Minnesota on Monday.Jazz: Host Denver on Monday. Andre Dillard Jersey . This time, Tebow was in a groove the entire second half -- not just in the waning minutes -- and his teammates on defence were getting gobbled up. Reggie White Jersey . Beanballs were the theme Friday night as the Red Sox and Rays had another AL East rumble, with Boston earning a 3-2 victory on A. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Harold-Carmichael-Inverted-Jersey/ . 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The team announced that it exercised the options on 15 players including goalkeepers Evan Bush, Maxime Crepeau and Troy Perkins, defenders Matteo Ferrari, Karl W.LJUBLJANA, Slovenia -- Slovenia earned a place in next years World Cup by beating Serbia 92-74 at the European basketball championship on Thursday. Zoran Dragic scored 23 points for Slovenia in a game between two quarterfinal losers. Slovenia will play for fifth place and Serbia for seventh. Seventh place will be enough for a slot at the World Cup because host Spain is a direct qualifier and is already in the European semifinals.dddddddddddd Slovenia outscored Serbia 30-16 in the first quarter and held on to win. Goran Dragic and Jaka Blazic added 15 points each for Slovenia. Nenad Krstic had 16 for Serbia, which went 2-for-18 from 3-point range. ' ' '