THE Utah Jazz survived the early exit of center Rudy Gobert, pulling off a 97-95 victory over the Clippers on Saturday in Los Angeles (Sunday, Manila time).
Gobert was helped off the court after hurting his left knee right on the first play of Game One of their Western Conference first round playoff.
Joe Johnson showed the way as the fifth-seeded Jazz took a huge advantage over the No. 4 Clippers.
Gobert was set to undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
Johnson came off the bench to score 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting, while Gordon Hayward went 7 for 18 and delivered 19 points.
George Hill added 16 points and Derrick Favors chipped in with 15.
Chris Paul had 25 points and 11 assists, while Blake Griffin scored 26 for the Clippers.
DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Game Two of the best-of-seven series is on Tuesday.
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