"You have a tendency to get complacent, and think you don't have to come and play very hard," Sloan said of such situations. "But that's when you get smacked upside the head."

The two teams did swap some blows early on, but down the stretch it was the Jazz — still playing without injured point Deron Williams, who missed his third consecutive game due to sprained left ankle — who did all the smacking.

The now 0-4 Clippers had led 24-21 early in the second quarter, but the Jazz reeled off a 9-0 run — including five points by sixth man Andrei Kirilenko — to go up by six.

It took a Carlos Boozer bucket off a lob from Kirilenko, however, for Utah to take a one-point advantage heading into halftime at 36-35.

The Jazz and Clippers traded the lead four times in the third quarter, but a Kirilenko dunk fed by replacement starter point Ronnie Price sent Utah into the fourth up 65-60.

NOTES: Millsap's 24 points were four off his career high. ... With the win, Sloan now needs just two more for No. 1,000 as head coach of the Jazz. ... This marks the first time a Mike Dunleavy-coached team has opened a season 0-4.... With Davis back, rookie Mike Taylor served as the Clippers' backup point and ex-Jazz point Jason Hart was buried on the bench. Hart had started Saturday's loss to the Jazz, but Taylor opened that game's second half and the Iowa State product stayed ahead of him on the Clippers' depth chart Monday. ... Attendance at largely empty Staples Center was announced at just 12,712. ... Because of the NBA's unbalanced schedule, this was the Jazz's only road game against the Clippers this season.

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