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In their first playoff appearance since 2012 the Utah Jazz have capped off a tight 97-91 game one win over the Los Angeles Clippers after losing starting centre Rudy Gobert in the first play of the game.
The Defensive Player of the Year candidate was injured after a knee collision with Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute saw him requiring assistance to be helped off the floor. He was shortly after ruled out of any game time. An MRI showed bone bruising at it remains to be seen whether he will play again this year.
In the absence of Gobert it was veteran player Joe Johnson who managed to push the Jazz to victory with his 21-point game on 12-18 shooting throughout the night
“We felt and knew that a lot of people probably were counting us out when he went down, but man, we stuck together,” Johnson said.
Johnson was the impact player down the stretch as his fourth quarter play saw him protect the Jazz’s lead and score the final basket in the dying seconds to win the game
“In those moments of the game, guys are not going to help,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of like you’re on an island by yourself and they expect for you to get that stop. Nobody wants their man to score, so I just try to be patient, get to a sweet spot, and make the right play.”
Frustration was the story for the Clippers who saw their stars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul combine for 51 points with Griffin doing post of his damage within the low post with the absence of Gobert.
The rest of the Clippers failed to make a huge impact within the game with the loss of Utah’s centre providing the opportunity for the remaining Jazz starters to step up defensively.
“They were more aggressive for [Redick] coming off screens,” Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute said. “They were almost trapping every time. They never let him come off and get his rhythm. It’s part of what I said, they were really aggressive defensively.”
With game two on the horizon on the 19th of April it will be up to Clippers coach Doc Rivers to come up with the key to matching up against a team who performed so strongly without one of their biggest defensive assets.
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