Clippers take advantage of Rudy Gobert's absence, beat Jazz to even series

LOS ANGELES >> The most anticipated matchup of the Clippers’ first-round series was in the middle. DeAndre Jordan versus Rudy Gobert; two star centers, bruising defensive stalwarts and the anchors of their teams’ identities.

That died when Gobert was lost to an injury in Game 1.

What remained for Jordan was a steady stream of overmatched Jazz defenders who had no answer for the Clippers’ pick-and-roll on Tuesday as Chris Paul repeatedly fed Jordan over the top for one dunk after another, propelling the Clippers to a 99-91 Game 2 victory that evens the best-of-7 series.

The series will turn to Salt Lake City, where the Jazz will host Game 3 on Friday.

It was a strong showing in a game that Clippers guard Raymond Felton termed earlier in the day a “must-win.”

“It’s probably one of the most important games we’ve had all year,” he said. “You can’t drop two games at home to start a series. We know that. We understand that. We know how serious this game is.”

Jordan finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds – he had 14 and 10 by halftime — and seven of his nine baskets came on dunks. He finished 9 for 11 from the field.

Blake Griffin and Paul led the Clippers in scoring for the second game in a row. Griffin scored 24 points, while Paul added 21 with 10 assists.

Coach Doc Rivers spent the week imploring his players to become the instigators on offense, and they did from the very start, building a 12-point first quarter lead, with the Clippers’ “big three” combining for 21 of their 29 points in the period.

“We did a better job of dictating the pace,” Rivers said. “It was a physical game, we had 60 points in the paint and only eight free throws. … They just allowed us to play. It was fun.”

While the Clippers never trailed, they also never led by more than 13, never quite able to turn the game into the blowout it often felt like.

What they did do, however, was repeatedly reject Utah’s runs.

When the Jazz pulled within three at 55-52, Paul responded with a key sequence. He buried a 3-pointer, blocked a shot and recorded one of his three steals, then scored a tough basket in transition. After a Utah timeout, the Clippers defense locked in to force a shot clock violation.

After a basket on the other end, what looked like a game that could go either way was back in the Clippers’ control, 62-52.

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It was more of the same in the fourth quarter, when Paul scored 11 of his points and Griffin buried a corner 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining to give the Clippers a 97-88 edge.

That it took the Clippers until Game 2 to figure out how to capitalize on Gobert’s absence was the only surprise. Derrick Favors, who missed 32 games because of injury this season, was thrust into a starting role and the Clippers repeatedly picked on him in the lob game.

“We should do it every night, obviously we came with the right amount of urgency tonight,” Rivers said. “That’s the only way we’re going to win this series, they’re big they’re long, they’re strong, they’re great defensively.”

Favors tallied 13 points and seven rebounds for the Jazz, but his night was defined more by the points he allowed to be scored.

“We’ve just got to find other ways to protect the paint,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “That’s the challenge, it is what it is, whenever you havea guy who’s a Defensive Player of the Year candidate everybody else has got to step up.”

Gordon Hayward led Utah with 20 points, while Game 1 hero Joe Johnson scored 13 off the bench.

The Clippers led 51-42 at halftime and the only thing keeping the Jazz in the game was a strong performance from beyond the arc. After two quarters the Jazz, a streaky 3-point shooting team, had shot just 40.5 percent from the field, but were 6 for 13 from the arc.