CLIPPERS STILL HAVE NO SOLUTION TO JAZZ UTAH HAS WON 17 OF PAST 18 VS. L.A. UTAH 94, CLIPPERS 89.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

In another annual sign that spring is here, the Utah Jazz visited Los Angeles, did nothing spectacular and walked away with a victory.

For a seventh consecutive season, the Clippers were unable to beat the Jazz in L.A. as Utah used sound fundamentals to defeat them 94-89 in front of 17,531 Tuesday night at Staples Center.

The Clippers had one brief, fourth-quarter lead, 86-85, with 1:10 left. But the Jazz responded with a jump shot by John Stockton and steal and layup by Matt Harpring with 38.4 seconds left to take a 89-86 lead and control of the game.

``When Stockton made that jumper, I couldn't believe it,'' Clippers forward Elton Brand said. ``But on second thought, I did believe it because I've seen it 100 times.''

No team has pounded the Clippers as frequently as the Jazz, which improved to 17-1 in its past 18 meetings against them. The Clippers' lone victory came this season in Utah. The last Clippers victory in Los Angeles came Dec. 30, 1996, but they did win twice after that at the Pond.

The Clippers didn't roll over.

With 2:31 to play, they pulled to 83-82 with 2:31 left when Eric Piatkowski made a 3-point shot. Harpring answered with a jump shot with 2:07 left to give the Jazz an 85-82 lead. After Lamar Odom made two free throws with 1:51 left, the Clippers later took the lead 86-85 with 1:10 left when Andre Miller scored a layup off a pass from Piatkowski.

The Clippers have lost leads in the fourth quarter 21 times this season.

Corey Maggette scored 23 points and Piatkowski added 18 to lead the Clippers.

In his first game back in more than a month, Brand had 12 points and 13 rebounds as a reserve.

``I didn't think that Coach (Dennis Johnson) would play me that much,'' Brand said. ``I haven't played in five weeks, haven't practiced or anything. Overall, I felt great. But my leg locked up in the fourth quarter. The next game, I should be fine, back to normal.''

Their inability to execute fundamentals hurt the Clippers again. They shot just 22 of 34 (64.7 percent) from the free-throw line - they missed six from the line in the fourth quarter - and committed 16 turnovers.

Karl Malone scored 25 points and John Stockton added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz. Harpring added 17 points.

The Jazz also shot poorly from the free-throw line, 18 of 28 (64.3 percent).

The Clippers retained the fourth-worst record in the league, and Utah moved a full game ahead of the Lakers for the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

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