West Notes: Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, Jazz, Mavs, Kyrie Irving

Clippers

The Clippers finished a Western Conference-best 11-2 in December, then kicked off the New Year with a home win over the Heat.

It’s a far cry from the days when they first landed guard James Harden in a trade with the 76ers. Soon after the deal, the Clippers lost six straight. But again, that’s ancient hoops history.

“It’s better when you try to figure out winning than trying to figure out losing. That’s what was happening earlier,” Harden told reporters. “Every single game, we’re trying to find ways to win games. Then towards the end of the season we’ll understand what we’re really good at and what we’re not.”

• Forward Kawhi Leonard returned after missing four games with a hip injury, scoring 24 points in the win. He has now surpassed 13,000 points for his career. “You seen the performance, both ends of the ball just elite,” Harden said of Leonard. “Shotmaking, defensively being active, creating opportunities in transition. We missed him.”
• Added coach Tyronn Lue: “It was really good to see him get going.”
• The Clippers now embark on a three-game trip, starting Wednesday at the Suns. They will also visit the Pelicans and Lakers (even though that last one is in their own building).

Jazz

• Guard Jordan Clarkson finished Monday’s blowout win over the visiting Mavericks with 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. That was the first triple-double for a Jazz player since forward Carlos Boozer accomplished the feat on Feb. 13, 2008.
• Clarkson grabbed his 10th and final rebound with 2:28 left in the game. He had several near-misses before that. “All the way up to the rebound, I was a little nervous,” he told reporters of securing the triple-double.
• Clarkson also became the first Jazz reserve to record a triple-double since late center Mark Eaton did it on Feb. 5, 1983 (12 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocked shots).
• Don’t look now, but Utah has won eight of 11. That included avenging a 50-point loss to Dallas last month. “Eighty-seven point swing is kind of wild,” forward Lauri Markkanen said. “It feels good to start the year off right.”

Mavericks

Star guard Kyrie Irving returned after missing 12 games with a bruised heel, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds in the Mavs’ blowout loss to the Jazz.

“It’s the first time in my career I’ve had this type of injury and it was unique and I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be out,” Irving told reporters. “There was no structural damage done to it, but it was, achy, and I don’t want to say (I was) humbled, but you realize that the injury is a lot more significant when you can’t get your other shoe on.”

• As for the loss, coach Jason Kidd said Utah’s defense caused Dallas all sorts of issues. “We just couldn’t get in a rhythm with that zone, the box-and-one and the different defenses they played tonight,” Kidd told reporters. “We knew what was coming. We just didn’t execute or capitalize on it.”