Clippers’ stars stay home but backups stay course to beat Jazz on Jamal Crawford’s shot in overtime

There was some polite applause amid the boos from the notoriously nasty fans here when the Clippers starters were announced. It made sense.

The Clippers might have been the second most popular NBA team in Utah based on who didn’t make the trip.

There was no Blake Griffin on Friday night at Vivant Smart Home Arena. No Chris Paul. No DeAndre Jordan. No J.J. Redick. No Austin Rivers. No Wesley Johnson.

No chance? The Clippers wouldn’t go that far.

Jamal Crawford backpedaled in glee after pulling up for a 25-foot three-pointer with two-tenths of a second left in overtime that gave what was left of the Clippers a stunning 102-99 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Clippers forward Paul Pierce wrapped an arm playfully around Crawford’s head while their teammates back in Los Angeles reached out in their own way.

“I had to restart my phone I had so many messages,” Crawford said after finishing with 30 points in a season-high 48 minutes.

There was a lot to say after the nine available Clippers made the nearly full-strength Jazz look outmanned. Pierce and Jeff Green each scored 18 points and center Cole Aldrich made a game-saving block and putback layup that forced overtime, on his way to a season-high 21 points and 18 rebounds, not to mention a career-high five steals.

“Cole Olajuwon!” Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell yelled in the locker room to no one in particular, referring to Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon.

It was nearly a repeat of the short-handed Clippers’ thriller against Oklahoma City last month, only with a better ending. Coach Doc Rivers trotted out a small lineup with 22 seconds left in overtime and instructed Crawford to take the final shot after luring a big man to switch onto him defensively.

That happened when a screen by Pierce forced Utah power forward Derrick Favors to come out and try to stop Crawford. No such luck.

“It was just a read at that point,” Crawford said. “It was whenever I was in range and felt comfortable, and I felt comfortable with that shot.”

Gordon Hayward finished with 24 points for the Jazz (39-40), whose hold on the final playoff berth in the Western Conference got a big more precarious.

Doc Rivers said he left every regular starter besides Luc Mbah a Moute at home so they could rest with the playoffs approaching. Griffin has played only three games since returning from a layoff of more than three months, but Rivers said too many minutes too quickly wouldn’t benefit his star power forward.

“The rust will come off whenever it comes off,” Rivers said, “and so the rest is so important for him so he can stay fresh.”

Rivers said Griffin would probably play in the Clippers’ next two games before sitting out their regular-season finale against Phoenix.

The Clippers hope Johnson and Austin Rivers can return Sunday against Dallas. Johnson is dealing with a flare-up of plantar fasciitis in his feet, and Rivers has a sore left ankle after injuring it against the Lakers on Tuesday.

Doc Rivers shrugged off the notion he was doing the Jazz a favor by keeping half of his roster at home while facing a team fighting for a playoff berth. There was nothing at stake for the Clippers (51-28), who have locked up fourth place in the West and are waiting only to find out whom they play in the first round of the playoffs.

“Listen, we’ve earned the right to be able to rest our guys,” Rivers said. “This is part of why you try to win games during the regular season, so you have the luxury if you need [it] to be able to rest. And I always have to do what’s best for my team, not what’s best for everyone else.”

It turned out the Clippers weren’t messing with the integrity of the game so much as the Jazz’s playoff hopes.

“We could’ve just said, ‘You know what, we’ve got six guys out, let’s just get through this one and get home,’ ” Aldrich said. “For us to come in here and just continue to fight the way we did shows character.”

Follow Ben Bolch on Twitter: @latbbolch