Jarron Collins took a look at the locker room board Monday, with Matt Harpring's name written among the starters for the first time this season, and jokingly announced: "He's back." Then he advised Harpring to jump into the whirlpool to ready his 32-year-old body.
Not only was Harpring back, so were the Jazz, at least for one night. With Harpring hustling from the very first minute, the Jazz won for only the second time in their last eight games, taking a 106-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Jazz couldn't get the help they needed as Dallas beat Minnesota 96-94 on Jason Terry's jumper with 0.2 seconds left. They remain the Western Conference's eighth-place team, trailing both Dallas and New Orleans, which lost 86-66 to Houston, by a game.
Heading into Tuesday night's regular-season finale at the L.A. Lakers, the Jazz need a victory to have any hope of escaping a first-round series against the top-seeded Lakers, followed by a loss Wednesday by either Dallas or New Orleans.
The Mavericks will host Houston in their final game, while the Hornets will visit San Antonio. The Lakers are planning to play Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and their other starters against the Jazz, although not necessarily full minutes.
More immediately, the Jazz were able to move past Saturday's nightmare loss to Golden State. They closed out the regular season 33-8 at EnergySolutions Arena and sent the Clippers to their 34th loss in 35 games since the building opened.
Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap combined to total 39 points and 24 rebounds. Harpring had nine points and four rebounds in 15 minutes starting in place of C.J. Miles, who was back out with a dislocated left index finger.
The Jazz held the Clippers to 43.8 percent shooting, including 5 of 19 three-pointers. The only blemish on the night came as Mehmet Okur suffered a mild right hamstring strain and left the game with 2:03 left in the second quarter. He will be re-evaluated today.
Baron Davis went 1-for-13 for the Clippers and tangled with Harpring in the third quarter, shoving him to the floor to draw a technical even as both players were charged with a double foul. Davis was booed every time he touched the ball the rest of the game.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan hadn't been anticipating to make any lineup changes, but opted to start Harpring when Miles couldn't go. The move paid immediate dividends as Harpring hit a hook in the post, blocked a shot and grabbed a rebound in the first minute.
Aside from an 11-0 Clippers run that included two pick-and-roll breakdowns, the Jazz had few hiccups on the way to a 30-17 first-quarter lead. Harpring raced for two layups on the break, stripped Marcus Camby and had six points in the quarter.
The Jazz were active defensively, with three steals and two blocks, and scored 16 points in the paint. Okur had 12 points and hit two three-pointers, yet passed on an open jumper to make the extra pass to Andrei Kirilenko for a dunk.
Brevin Knight came off the bench and tied up 6-foot-11 DeAndre Jordan for a jump ball. Not only did the Jazz control the tip, Knight hit Millsap for a dunk on the break, then pumped his fist back down court.
Millsap had 13 points and six rebounds (four offensive) in the first half, hitting jumpers and following up around the basket. The Jazz led by 22 with four minutes left in the half and took a 56-43 lead into the locker room.
The Clippers closed within 10 in the fourth quarter, but the Jazz answered with a jumper and follow-up by Boozer and a Kyle Korver three-pointer. Deron Williams had 17 points and nine assists but went only 3-for-11.
rsiler@sltrib.com
