Clippers deflate against Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY -- So much for the momentum push.

It pushed back. Hard.

The Clippers followed arguably their best win of the season with arguably one of their worst losses, a 106-88 thrashing from the Utah Jazz on Friday at EnergySolutions Arena.

The uninspiring game ended the way so many between these teams have before here, with the Jazz celebrating a victory and confetti lightly streaming from the rafters, and the Clippers losing and searching for warmer weather. The loss is the Clippers’ 31st in 32 games in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz improved to 17-3 at home and undefeated in six home games this month.

“Utah plays well at home,” said Corey Maggette, who scored a game-high 20 points. “Starting with Deron [Williams] and [Carlos] Boozer, it’s just like the old John Stockton and Karl Malone. Then they have guys fitting in really well. We just didn’t bring it tonight.”

No Utah scorer reached 20 points, but seven scored in double figures. Boozer had 19 points on nine-for-12 shooting and Williams finished with 15 points and six assists, despite battling foul trouble.

“I was disappointed mentally where we were, that we didn’t do a better job of covering their plays,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We know their stuff pretty well and we let them get easy scores.

“We weren’t sharp mentally. It was almost like we didn’t have a shoot-around today.”

They did, but it didn’t matter.

“We just didn’t execute the things we needed to do to win the game,” Maggette said. “It had nothing to do with coach. It was on us. We just need to pay attention better and do the stuff we need to do.”

The Jazz entered the game shooting 48.9% from the field, tied with the Phoenix Suns for the league’s best, and made 43 of their 83 shots.

The Clippers (11-24) beat the Pacific-division leading Suns on Tuesday and, even though it was their first victory of the month, appeared to be turning a bend in playing a run of division leaders close.

That changed against the Jazz.

“That’s one of the things we try to figure out with this team,” Brevin Knight said. “We play one way one day and another way another day.”

Chris Kaman and Sam Cassell, following his 32-point barrage against the Suns, scored 16 points. Kaman also had 16 rebounds.

The Clippers led for the first three minutes and then spent most of the game trying to stay within 15 points. The Clippers were surprised by the amount of energy Utah exhibited after losing in Denver to the Nuggets a night earlier.

“Earlier in the game, they just outhustled us,” Cassell said. “They beast us, they outhustled us. We were a step behind in every loose ball and they converted every loose ball into points.”

Here’s how one emblematic second-quarter stretch went, where afterward the Jazz led, 59-45, at halftime:

Mehmet Okur layup, Clippers turnover, Kyle Korver layup, Cuttino Mobley’s shot blocked, Williams makes two free throws.

It was another forgettable night in a long litany of defeats for the Clippers in Utah.

They have a chance to avenge the loss shortly -- not in Utah, but against the Jazz, anyway.

After the Clippers whip around for the New Jersey Nets tonight, they play host to the Jazz on Monday in a matinee game.

Boozer said the Jazz will be prepared.

“We’ll be ready for it,” he said. “It’s the NBA. We’ve done it before and we have to do it now.”

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jonathan.abrams@latimes.com