Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert (27) and Royce O’Neale (23) defend against Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, center, during the first half of Game 1 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Los Angeles Clippers (47-25, fourth in the Western Conference during the regular season) vs. Utah Jazz (52-20, first in the Western Conference during the regular season) Salt Lake City; Thursday, 8 p.m. MDT WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Jazz lead series 1-0 BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Jazz host the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference second round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Jazz won the previous matchup 112-109. Donovan Mitchell scored 45 points to lead Utah to the victory and Kawhi Leonard totaled 23 points in the loss for LA. The Jazz are 28-14 in Western Conference games. Utah has a 51-16 record when scoring 100 or more points. The Clippers are 27-15 in Western Conference play. Los Angeles is 25-9 against opponents with a losing record. TOP PERFORMERS: Rudy Gobert is scoring 14.3 points per game and averaging 13.5 rebounds for the Jazz. Jordan Clarkson is averaging 23.2 points over the last 10

Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (2) and Marcus Morris Sr. (8) defend against Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the first half of Game 1 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 45 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 112-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series on Tuesday night. Mitchell did most of his work in the second half, scoring 32 points to rally the Jazz from a double-digit deficit. Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points apiece. Mitchell and Clarkson combined for 12 3-pointers. “I didn’t do a lot of things right for my team in the first half and it ate at me,” Mitchell said. Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points to lead Los Angeles. Paul George chipped in 20 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Kennard added 18 points while making a team-high four 3-pointers. Utah and Los Angeles will play Game 2 on Thursday in Salt Lake City. “We had a pretty good rhythm in the first half,” Leonard said. “We came in the third