'Iso Joe' dominates late to carry Jazz, even series with Clippers in Game 4

The first-round playoff series between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers increasingly resembles a war of attrition. One game after the No. 5 Clippers lost Blake Griffin to a toe injury for the remainder of the postseason, the No. 4 Jazz returned star center Rudy Gobert to the starting lineup for Sunday night’s Game 4 but learned that All-Star wing Gordon Hayward would be limited due to food poisoning. Hayward started and managed nine first-half minutes before being ruled out for the remainder of the night, which left a vacancy in the Jazz lineup for offensive creation and scoring in crunch time. Without Griffin, the Clippers at least have the certainty of Chris Paul. For the Jazz, no Hayward creates the potential for serious offensive droughts.

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They were saved by a familiar face — veteran scorer and first-year Utah reserve Joe Johnson. The Jazz trailed 87-80 when Johnson returned to the floor with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, at which point they had scored three points in the period and allowed the Clippers to create meaningful separation. All the nearly 35-year-old did was take over the game and lead the Jazz to a 105-98 win that ties the series at 2-2.

Johnson finished with a game-high 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting and added five assists and five rebounds, but his performance in crunch time went beyond the numbers. Playing the style that once earned him the derisive nickname “Iso Joe,” Johnson bullied his defenders into the paint and fired fairly ugly but undeniably effective jumpers. These were not occasional buckets to keep Utah afloat — Johnson made field goals on the team’s first five possessions inside the 7:00 mark to give the Jazz a 91-90 lead. It was a sort of bootleg copy of what San Antonio Spurs superstar Kawhi Leonard did to the Memphis Grizzlies in Saturday’s thriller. No matter what Johnson did, the Clippers couldn’t stop him.

Doc Rivers responded to the problem with double-teams, but all that did was create open shots for others. Johnson assisted on three three-pointers (two for Joe Ingles, one for Rodney Hood) from the 3:24 to 0:58 marks to extend the lead and seal the win. All told, the Jazz out-scored the Clippers 25-11 after he re-entered and turned a dull game into a fun one.

If not for Johnson’s star turn, Game 4 likely would have been decided by L.A.’s own ageless bench scorer. Jamal Crawford put up 25 points on a mere 13 shots and offered the Clippers a scoring option they sorely needed with Griffin in street clothes and J.J. Redick suffering through 3-of-11 shooting from the field.

Unfortunately, depending on Crawford meant that he guarded Johnson for several late possessions, a problematic matchup that had plenty to do with Utah’s strong closing run. If Rivers is looking for another option, though, it’s not clear he has one. The Clippers followed a strong 6-of-12 first-half performance from beyond the arc by going 5-of-20 after the break, and bench players other than Crawford and Raymond Felton offered just one point in a combined 16 minutes. The potential return of Austin Rivers would help matters in Game 5, but he’s an inconsistent presence in full health and shouldn’t be depended on to be a difference-maker.

That puts a serious burden on Chris Paul, who willingly shouldered that load for the majority of Game 4. CP3 finished a rebound short of a triple-double with 26 points (10-of-21 FG) and 12 assists (against two turnovers) and was the best player on the floor most of the night. But any dip in his form could be untenable for a Clippers squad grasping for offensive production.

Meanwhile, the Jazz look on the ascendancy after Gobert’s successful return to the lineup. Eight days after injuring his left knee 11 seconds into Game 1, Gobert won the opening tip and finished with 15 points, 13 assists, and two blocks in 24 minutes. He did not offer quite the same interior presence that made him a leading Defensive Player of the Year candidate this season, but things could have gone much worse. Few players rush back form playoff injuries and put up double-doubles in limited minutes.

If Hayward overcomes his illness by Tuesday’s Game 5, then the Jazz suddenly look a lot more like a Western Conference semifinalist than do their opponents without Griffin. The Clippers have the benefit of a home game, which tends to benefit role players, but they’re also playing with a limited rotation and not getting the shooting they need from Redick.

The bad news for Utah is that fortunes seem to change very quickly in this series. Game 5 is certainly pivotal, but it’s ultimately just another potential pivot point in a matchup that’s seen plenty already.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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