April 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) moves the ball against Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers (25) during the second half in game five of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
With the series tied 2-2, the Utah Jazz took a decisive victory in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. What does this mean going forward and what can we take away from the game?
Coming into Game 5, the Utah Jazz knew that their playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers would likely come down to Tuesday night's clash. Historically, teams that go up 3-2 with a win in the fifth game have won that series around 82 percent of the time.
For the first time virtually all series, the Jazz were able to start their ideal lineup, with Rudy Gobert in his second game back from a knee injury and Gordon Hayward returning from a bout of food poisoning that limited him to just a handful of ineffective minutes in Game 4.
Hayward led Utah in scoring by a wide margin, putting up 27 points and eight rebounds on 9-for-16 shooting.
No one else for Utah eclipsed Rodney Hood's 16 points, but a total of six players finished in double figures.
For Los Angeles, Chris Paul once again led his squad with 28 points, although J.J. Redick was close behind with 26. DeAndre Jordan was the only other Clipper with more than10 points.
Both teams went on early runs to start the game, with the Clippers jumping out to a 7-0 lead before the Jazz went on a spurt of their own to make the score 11-7.
After that, the score remained relatively close, with Utah carrying a 46-43 halftime advantage.
In the second half, the Jazz began to pull away and did not look back, never trailing for the game's final 25 minutes.
Scoring was streaky throughout, but Utah eventually came out on top thanks to some more clutch play from Joe Johnson, who once again scored a decisive bucket to sway the result in favor of the Jazz.
There's plenty to remember as the series shifts into its sixth game, so let's get into the takeaways!
April 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) keeps the ball away from Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) during the second half in game five of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Point Vs. Point
Chris Paul has been a thorn in the Jazz's side the whole series, averaging 27 points and 10 assists per game while finishing a cumulative plus-15. This isn't exactly surprising — Paul is one of the league's best players — but Utah point guard George Hill has been no slouch this year either.
It looks like Paul just has another gear to go to when the stakes raise and the difference between him and Hill was illustrated on Tuesday.
In opposition to Paul's stellar output, Hill managed 12 points and seven assists on putrid 3-of-12 shooting, including a 0-for-5 performance from behind the arc.
Many of his shot attempts were off-the-dribble jumpers or three-pointers that just weren't falling for most of the game.
Paul, on the other hand, was adept at nailing these type of shots, working off screens at the top of the key and maneuvering around the Jazz defense. Look how similar this shot is to the one Hill missed:
Paul's shotmaking ability was also on display in isolation sets, where he was able to create space from his larger defenders and get off mid-range attempts or the occasional three-pointer. Hill has the size advantage, but Paul uses his momentum and angle to bump the Jazz guard off-balance.
Hill did step up down the stretch, nailing four consecutive free throws that could have let the Clippers back in the game. The Jazz will need a strong two-way effort from him in Game 6, as Paul will be doing everything in his power to stave off elimination.
April 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers guard JJ Redick (4) and guard Jamal Crawford (11) during the first half in game five of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
The J.J. Game
Thanks to some sharp defense from Joe Ingles and others, Clippers 2-guard J.J. Redick was more or less shut down for the first four games of the series, averaging less than eight points and shooting just 27 percent from his specialty behind the arc.
However, Redick went off Tuesday night for 26 points, making three of his seven long-range attempts and even going 4-for-5 from two-point territory, a rarity for him.
The Jazz matched up many different players on Redick, from Ingles to Rodney Hood to Dante Exum, but Redick was able to score in different ways on all of them.
The foundation of his game is catch-and-shoot threes, often off of a pin-down screen. At times, these attempts are made more difficult as he often has to launch himself into the air at odd angles in order to escape the defense.
He also was able to find a sliver of space on perimeter dribble hand-offs thanks to a miscommunication on the Jazz's part. Those are the attempts Utah can't afford to allow, as he's dangerous enough shooting the tough looks.
Some of his shots will fall from time to time no matter what caliber of defense the Jazz play, especially as Redick is not their main defensive focus. However, what Utah cannot have happen is for him to flourish from inside the arc, as he did in Game 5.
Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward wait just a touch too long to help off their respective matchups in the clip below, letting Redick get all the way to the rim for the floater.
With some success coming from feeding him touches, don;t be surprised if the Clippers look to get Redick some more shots going forward. They've done a respectable job so far, but the Jazz would do well to nail down their gameplan for stopping Los Angeles' sharpshooter.
April 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) is fouled by Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) during the second half in game five of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Stagnant Offense
As this game's low halftime (46-43) and end (96-92) scores might suggest, both teams played somewhat poorly on offense, for a variety of reasons.
The absence of Blake Griffin from Los Angeles was palpably felt, as they lacked a variety of scoring options outside of Chris Paul. The Clippers had only 28 points in the paint, half of which came from DeAndre Jordan.
Backup point guard Austin Rivers, who made his series debut in Game 5, is normally expected to create some offense from the bench, but failed to make any of his four shots, committing two turnovers in the process.
More from Hoops Habit
Likewise, Jamal Crawford, who went for 25 points in Game 4, finished just 2-for-8 from the field. When he's not hitting, his defense is a major negative for his team.
With no Blake Griffin (out with a toe injury), Los Angeles was also unable to generate run-outs or early post-ups in transition, scoring just 11 fast-break points.
The Jazz shot 36 three-pointers, their second-highest number of attempts this season, which could be the result of their poor shooting in the restricted area.
Both teams combined to score 66 points in the fourth quarter as the lead ping-ponged back and forth with a furious pace.
Paul in particular caught fire, scoring 15 points in the period and hitting three three-pointers along the way. Redick also scored 14 of his 26 points in the final quarter.
The Jazz were able to respond with Rodney Hood and Hayward scoring nine each and Joe Johnson hitting the game's biggest shot, a step-back jumper that put the Jazz up five with 20 seconds to go.
Part of Utah's struggles making shots can be chalked up to the Clippers' defense, which did a nice job cutting out any easy looks, but some of their misses have to be considered just plain bad luck.
With their own top-tier defense clicking and rotation rounding into health, the Jazz are setting up to be in good shape when their shots start falling.
The Jazz will look to close out the series at home in Game 6 on Friday night.
