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09	August 2018

in three of the four outings.

SALT LAKE CITY � It isn�t a cliche to say that the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers have reached a juncture where every game counts. Plenty is at stake when the two teams clash in Salt Lake City on Thursday night.

Utah (45-33) has won three straight and is a half-game up on San Antonio for fourth place in the Western Conference after the Spurs dropped an overtime decision to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz need to keep winning to clinch that top four seed and earn homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Clippers (42-36) trail New Orleans by two games for the final playoff spot. They need more wins and a little help elsewhere to keep their season going beyond next week.

For Utah Logan Cooke Color Rush Jersey , the path to a top-four seed requires overcoming some recent struggles at home. The Jazz won their second straight home game Tuesday after edging the Los Angeles Lakers 117-110.

It wasn�t a simple task. The Lakers shot 48.6 percent from the field overall and made 14 3-pointers. Utah needed 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting from Ricky Rubio � his fifth career 30-point game � to outlast them.

The Jazz struggled with everything from closing out on shooters to stopping transition baskets. It left coach Quin Snyder unhappy with the effort he witnessed.

�Our focus needs to be: be better,� Snyder said. �All I�ve heard is the playoffs and we�re in the playoffs. We�re not in the playoffs. There�s no x next to our name in the standings, so we need to play with more urgency and more focus.�

Perimeter defense has been a major issue in recent games for the Jazz. Seven of Utah�s last 10 opponents have shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range. Four have shot better than 50 percent from long distance.

The Lakers shot 13-of-21 from 3-point range through three quarters before finally going 1-of-7 over the final 12 minutes. It let Los Angeles hang around and made the Jazz sweat out a win.

�I don�t think for us it should be hard,� Utah guard Donovan Mitchell said. �We kind of did this to ourselves a little bit. I think the biggest thing with us is being able to come out strong.�

The Clippers picked up a critical 113-110 victory over San Antonio on Tuesday night to keep their playoff hopes alive. Los Angeles rallied in the fourth quarter against the Spurs, scoring 41 points to overcome a double-digit deficit. Lou Williams supplied 15 of his 22 points in the final quarter and Tobias Harris led the way with 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting.

It snapped a two-game losing streak for Los Angeles. One reason for it is the Clippers showed marked improvement in getting to the free throw line and making free throws. They went 34-of-43 from the line against the Spurs after making 31-of-49 free throws combined in losses to Portland and Indiana.

The Clippers also closed strong in the fourth quarter against San Antonio after falling victim to a final quarter rally against the Pacers.

Los Angeles could be a little short-handed Thursday. Danilo Gallinari sat out Tuesday with a sore right hand and it�s doubtful he will be available agaunst the Jazz. Gallinari has appeared in only 21 games this season because of injuries.

�It�s day by day Eddie Rosario Minnesota Twins Jersey ,� Gallinari told the Los Angeles Times. �I will go with the team to Utah, and hopefully the pain is a little better and I play next game.�

Utah has won two of the first three meetings this season. The Jazz beat the Clippers 125-113 on Jan. 20 in the most recent encounter. Utah never trailed and was powered by 23 points from Mitchell and 21 points from Joe Ingles.

Los Angeles fell short despite 31 points, seven assists and a franchise-record 10 steals from Williams. He became the first player in NBA history to have 30 points, 10 steals and seven assists in a game.

Marco Gonzales was looking for some retribution against the Kansas City Royals.

Gonzales (8-5) pitched a six-hitter for his first career complete game in the Seattle Mariners� 4-1 victory on Friday. The left-hander struck out seven and didn�t issue a walk while throwing just 96 pitches.

�My last outing against these guys didn�t go great � my second start of the year, I think � so I was looking for some payback Jay Buhner Seattle Mariners Jersey , too. So I was a little more amped than usual,� Gonzales said.

Mitch Haniger and Mike Zunino homered for Seattle.

Gonzales had been chased after just 2 1/3 innings of what became a 10-0 loss on April 9, but Friday�s start was much different. Gonzalez, who�d never taken a game into the eighth inning until going 7 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay earlier this month, didn�t need more than 13 pitches to finish any inning against the Royals.

�He has a lot of confidence right now because everything that�s happened to him this year http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-denzel-ward-jersey , he�s earned,� Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

Whit Merrifield singled to lead off the game and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rosell Herrera. Gonzales picked Merrifield off second base to erase the baserunner and would retire nine straight batters before running into a spot of trouble in the fourth.

Herrera doubled off the glove of left fielder Denard Span with one out. An infield single from Mike Moustakas put runners on the corners, but Gonzales induced an inning-ending double play from Salvador Perez to keep the Royals off the board.

�The way that we�ve been playing and the fun that we�ve been having, I can�t wait for my fifth day to come,� Gonzales said. �To be able to go out there and contribute in a positive way and have these guys rally behind you is pretty incredible.�

Royals starter Ian Kennedy (1-8) retired the first 10 batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth. Jean Segura reached on an infield single to give Seattle its first baserunner of the game. Haniger followed with a two-run blast over the center-field wall to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

After fouling off three straight pitches with a 2-2 count http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-isaiah-oliver-jersey , Zunino blasted a solo home run two rows from the top of the upper deck in left field to extend the Mariners� lead to 3-0 in the fifth.

Kennedy left after five innings due to tightness in his left side that surfaced on the last pitch to Zunino.

�I felt it grab,� Kennedy said. �And then the rest of the inning it stayed tight. The last couple pitches I was compensating for it, so I knew � the right thing to do is to say something.�

Segura added a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning off Brandon Maurer to give Seattle a 4-0 advantage.

Adalberto Mondesi doubled to open the ninth and Moustakas delivered a two-out single to center field to drive home the only run of the game for the Royals.

BONIFACIO RETURNS

Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio was recalled and back in the lineup for the Royals on Friday after completing an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Bonifacio was suspended in March after testing positive for Boldenone, which is an anabolic androgenic steroid. Bonifacio started the game in left field and went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. He hit .255 with 17 home runs and 40 RBIs in 113 games as a rookie in 2017. OF Ryan Goins was designated for assignment on Thursday to clear a roster spot. �It was a tough time down there in Arizona. But I learned from it. It�s never going to happen again,� Bonifacio said.

TRAINER�S ROOM

Royals: C Perez was back in the lineup after exiting Wednesday�s game in Milwaukee in the ninth inning after taking a foul ball off his right leg.

Mariners: 3B Kyle Seager was back in the lineup after making only a pinch-hit appearance in Baltimore on Sunday. Seager has an �avulsion fracture� in his big toe and was given the day off in the field to rest. It�s not expected to require a disabled list stint and Seager is planning to play through the injury.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jason Hammel (2-9) will make his 17th start of the season on Saturday. Hammel has lost four straight starts and has allowed at least three earned runs in three of the four outings.

Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (7-6) will take the hill for the 18th time this season as he looks to continue a run of strong starts. After a rough first two months of the season Tanner Lee Color Rush Jersey , Hernandez has allowed just one earned run in three of his five starts in June.

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