Johnson scores 28, Jazz beat Clippers 105-98 to even series

Rudy Gobert going down with a knee injury 11 seconds into Game 1.

“Iso Joe” has become a major problem for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Los Angeles built up an 87-80 advantage early in the fourth quarter, but momentum swung toward Utah when Crawford picked up his fifth foul and headed to the bench with 8:50 remaining. Every player and every coach: ‘The blame is on me.’ Then let’s get it out and go to the next game. His other four buckets were vintage JJ-working down on the block, bullying his defender into turnaround jumpers and push shots in the lane. He scored the most points of any Jazz player in a quarter in a playoff game. Johnson was courted by several teams, the Clippers included, but ultimately chose a young, growing Utah team where his experience and on-demand scoring would be vital.

“I don’t look at it as a wasted effort or anything like that”. Mbah a Moute left Hood at the three-point line to switch back onto Johnson. Assuming Hayward comes back for Game Five, Utah will be completely healthy, something they were not for the majority of the regular season. The veteran forward said it would not affect the way he prepared for Game 4. Last postseason, he appeared in six games while starting two of those contests. Throw in a 15-point, 13-rebound game from Gobert and solid across-the-board play from George Hill and you have the recipe for victory.

The series between the LA Clippers and the Utah Jazz is tied one game apiece as the series shifts to Utah. He converted a blistering 44.1 percent of his three-point attempts for the season and, in today’s National Basketball Association, that is a quick way to gain recognition. The 24-year-old is second to only DeAndre Jordan in net rating against Utah at 18.4 in the four meetings. “Hopefully Joe Ingles won’t go down”. Despite missing most of the regular season, he’s been a pleasant surprise as the x-factor in helping survive Gobert’s absence.

It was the second time in the series that Utah prevailed while playing short-handed.

Chris Paul finished a rebound shy of a triple-double, finishing with 27 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. The Jazz had a 42-31 edge in rebounds and outscored Los Angeles 58-36 in the paint. Paul traveled, Redick missed a 3. Johnson shot 70.6 percent from the field, the best he has ever shot in a playoff game. But long-term, Friday’s injury to Griffin might have signaled the end of an era in Los Angeles, or, it might give Rivers another reason to believe he can bring this entire team back and hope for an entire season of health.

The value is probably on the Jazz and the points here, especially with Gobert back on the court and Hayward expected to play despite his illness.

An interesting subplot, is that Johnson was doing all of that – simply taking over the game and cooking the Clippers – while wearing Chris Paul’s signature shoe, the CP3.X.

According to Los Angeles Times, the Clippers front office would be hesitant to offer Griffin the eligible five-year supermax contract due to the forward’s recent injury history.

SALT LAKE CITY There are very few things about the game of basketball Chris Paul can not explain.