Tim Buckley writes about Utah's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday and the impacts it caused.

"It was a big victory," Karl Malone said after the Jazz completed a four-game sweep of their season series with the Clippers, who have now lost 14 in a row to Utah, 26 straight in Salt Lake City and remain one of only two teams (along with Cleveland) that never have won in the Delta Center.

"An important win for us," coach Jerry Sloan called it.

Here's why: The Jazz moved from four to five games ahead of the Clippers in the quest for the eighth and last Western Conference playoff position, reducing Utah's magic number for clinching a postseason berth from to four to two. Any combination of two Jazz wins and/or Clipper loses, and the Jazz are in.

Additionally, Utah's win combined with Seattle's loss to San Antonio on Wednesday pushed the Jazz (42-33, 8-3 in their past 11) to within half a game of the seventh-place Sonics.