The final game of the Sunday slate of NBA playoff action put the Utah Jazz against the Los Angeles Clippers. This would be the Clippers first game without their star forward Blake Griffin who is out for the remainder of the playoffs with a toe injury. The Jazz got some well-needed help, as Rudy Gobert was in the lineup after sustaining a knee injury in game one. However, the Jazz were down their leading scorer in Gordon Hayward who was fighting food poisoning. He tried to play through it, but went out the game and didn't return. The Jazz put on an offensive clinic in the fourth and won the game 105-98.
Old man got game
The Utah Jazz were led in scoring by the same person who scored the game-winning basket in their game one win. Seasoned NBA veteran Joe Johnson led all scorers with 28 points for the game. He shot an exceptional 12-17 from the field. Joe Johnson always was a pure scorer, but when his team needed him to turn back the clock, he did it with ease, tearing apart the Clippers defense.
Thirteen of Johnson's 28 points came in the fourth quarter, showing many that this old man still got the game. Johnson also added five boards and five assists to his stat line as well. Johnson has been an offensive monster in this series, shooting an efficient 50 percent from the field and averaging 19 PPG this series.
Johnson is 35 years old and still making coaches break their clipboard over how hard it is to guard him.
Clippers guard Chris Paul did his best to keep his team in the game late by hitting big shot after shot. Paul was close to a triple-double, finishing the game with 27 points, 12 assists, and 9 boards for the game. Paul was joined by another seasoned veteran in Jamal Crawford, who had himself a night as well.
He scored 25 points and shot 5-7 from three-point land. These two guards have been in the league for a while and did everything they could to get the Clippers the win. In the end, it wasn't enough
Shooting Matters
In this game, shooting played a key role in deciding who would win the game tonight. The Jazz had the better shooting night, as they shot 54 percent from the field, 10 percent better than the Jazz who shot 44 percent from the field.
From three-point range, it was about the same deficit, as the Jazz hit 45 percent from three compared to the 34 percent from the Clippers. The Jazz scored when it mattered most, outscoring the Clippers 28-18 in the fourth quarter.
The Jazz got the win in this game, as it was a must win game four. They should be at full strength for game five, as Gordon Hayward should be healthy enough to play and Gobert showed tonight he can still be a force. The Clippers will need to figure out how to stop the ageless Joe Johnson and find more late game scoring. Game five will be in L.A on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. EST on TNT.
Joe Johnson is out here facilitating the offense. Just wow.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 24, 2017