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Some losses are worse than others.

And how long it takes shooting guard Alec Burks to get back on the court will determine how much the one the Utah Jazz endured Saturday night truly hurts.

In a 109-104 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Jazz fought through multiple absences and nagging injuries to take a Western Conference contender to the brink. But the sight of Burks crashing hard to the court at the end of the second half will be the lasting image for the Jazz, at least for now.

"To lose AB like that was emotional for us," said forward Gordon Hayward.

Burks had scored 11 points, including a high-flying finish in the paint, to give the Jazz early life against the Clippers. But late in the second quarter, the guard drove to the basket, leapt into the air and was caught by L.A. forward Paul Pierce, causing Burks to land hard on his left side, hitting his head, his surgically repaired shoulder and his leg in the process. Burks, known for his fearless play in the paint, is usually quick to bounce back up, but this time he lay there for a while, as coach Quin Snyder and his teammates rushed to him.

"I feel terrible for him. He's a tough kid. Especially with what he went through last year, you feel terrible for him," Hayward said of Burks, who missed all but 27 games a season ago with a shoulder injury. "But like I said, he's tough and hopefully he'll have a speedy recovery."

His teammates were concerned as they watched his leg shaking after the fall. Burks stayed in the game and took two free throws for Pierce's foul, which was ruled a common foul. He missed them both and then limped back to the locker room where he was diagnosed with "concussion-like symptoms" and a sprained left ankle.

"It was a hard foul. AB was just caught in the air in a vulnerable position," Hayward said. "Sometimes those falls happen. I feel terrible for him. Hopefully he can have a speedy recovery."

Hayward scored a game-high 26 points and helped the Jazz build up an early 11-point lead on the Clippers, who will be without All-Star forward Blake Griffin for at least two weeks after he suffered a torn quad tendon on Friday. But the Jazz lead was down to four when Burks was injured with 34 seconds left in the first half.

Already without forward Derrick Favors for the night because of back spasms, the fall seemed like a turning point for the Jazz on Saturday. In the third quarter, L.A. quickly tied the game and then took a lead on a 14-0 run fueled by four straight 3-pointers - one from Pierce and three straight from sharpshooter J.J. Redick.

But the Jazz managed a rally, albeit one that would ultimately fall short.

Utah's Rodney Hood, who was dealing with a muscle strain himself, scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, giving the Jazz hope of a victory. With two minutes to play, a Hood layup cut the deficit to one.

But Redick answered right back with a 3-pointer as the Jazz struggled to communicate on defense.

After Jazz forward Joe Ingles found his range from deep, Redick came back again with another triple. The Clipper forward finished with a team-high 25 points and hit on five of his seven attempts from 3-point territory.

And it was the veteran Pierce who salted the game away with a wide-open 3 as two Jazz defenders chased Redick. Pierce scored 20 and point guard Chris Paul had 19 points and 11 assists.

"They make you pay," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "They just need a window. They're clutch players. … It was a different [defensive mistake every time, but those mistakes were grounded in the fact that we weren't talking."

With the loss, the Jazz dropped to 12-16 on the year, though the talk afterward was mostly about Burks. In the locker room after, players talked somberly about their teammate, though it remains undetermined how long he would be out, if he misses time at all.

"We talked to him a little after the game," said point guard Trey Burke. "We fully support him. We want him to get back as soon as possible, but with an injury like that you need to take your time."

Snyder said the Jazz were evaluating Burks' injuries and "they're looking in to his ankle, whether it's sprained or something more serious."

"He seemed fine when we talked to him. He seemed like he was in good spirits. We just told him to hold it together, we support him and come back when he's ready," Burke said. "… We'll be here for him until he gets back."

Twitter: @tribjazz —

Storylines

R Gordon Hayward scores a game-high 28 points and Rodney Hood scores 13 in the fourth quarter, but the injury-depleted Jazz can't overcome the Clippers.

• J.J. Redick hits back-to-back 3s in the fourth quarter to keep the game out of reach.