The Utah Jazz seemingly were dealt with an immediate series-changing injury to start their 2017 NBA Playoffs first round matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. Their star big man Rudy Gobert was expected to be a difference maker but he went down with a knee injury only 17 seconds into his playoffs debut. People immediately were writing off a ‘surprise’ team they loved just an hour before. Little did we know, Joe Johnson would play the role of difference-maker in this first game.
Joe Johnson took advantage of the matchups he was receiving all night. Whether it was Paul Pierce or getting switched onto a smaller guard or a slower big man, Joe took advantage of just about everyone. He scored 21 points in 31 minutes of action on 9-14 shooting and going 3-4 from three-point range. One of their bigger recent free agent signings was shining in increased minutes.
But no shot, perhaps in Johnson’s entire career, was bigger than his final shot of the game. After Clippers all-star point guard Chris Paul scored to tie the game at 95, the Jazz pushed the ball and didn’t call timeout. The ball ended up in Joe’s hands and he did work against the often defensively challenged Jamal Crawford. Iso Joe proved why he’s a seven-time all-star with this game-winning buzzer-beater to give the Jazz an early 1-0 series lead.
JOE. JOHNSON. FTW! ?#TAKENOTE pic.twitter.com/B98qQYYXE8
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 16, 2017
