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Just a few minutes after winning Game 2, Clippers point guard Chris Paul picked up a box score and checked Gordon Hayward's line.

"Probably 20 of the toughest points he ever had to get," Paul said.

Hayward's next 20 would come much easier, and with a piece of Utah Jazz history. But, in the end, they would mean precious little to the all-star forward.

Hayward scored career-high 40 points on Friday night, including 21 in the opening quarter of Game 3, but left Vivint Smart Home Arena with his team trailing 2-1 in its first-round playoff series with Los Angeles.

"We lost," Hayward said after a 111-106 defeat. "So none of that matters."

The defeat, however, comes with some positive takeaways for a Jazz offense that has struggled at times in this series.

"You try to take some positives away from this game and the positives were we came out really strong," Hayward said. "I think we found a little something offensively. George [Hill] and myself kind of broke out of the slump we were in a little bit and knocked down some shots. But a loss is a loss."

Hayward has been hounded by Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute throughout this series. Utah's all-star had been held to 35 percent shooting in the first two games of the series, but came out determined early in Game 3.

On Friday night, however, Hayward finally broke free.

He opened up hitting his first shot with Mbah a Moute trailing him. He would go on to finish the quarter seven for eight from field, including three for three from deep.

"He was even more aggressive today early on. He knew he needed to get off to a good start obviously," forward Joe Ingles said.

Hayward's 21 points in the first were the most in a quarter by any Jazz player in the franchise's postseason history. Karl Malone previously held the mark, thanks to a 20-point fourth quarter against the Trail Blazers in May of 1991. It was also the first 40-point playoff performance for the Jazz since Carlos Boozer in 2007.

"We've been talking about him having one of those nights if he keeps staying aggressive," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "Tonight he did and that's what happened."

Snyder said he didn't think Hayward's night was a "wasted effort."

"Gordon's our leader out there on the court," Snyder said. "He had a big game, but it just shows you that there are other things you've got to do."

And as the Jazz turn their attention to a critical Game 4 on Sunday in Salt Lake City, they'll need Hayward to keep performing at an all-star level to keep their hopes of advancing alive.

"He's just got to do it again," the coach said. "That's why it's seven games."

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @aaronfalk