This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The message all season from the Utah Jazz to guard Rodney Hood has been consistent: Shoot the basketball.

If Hood missed four straight shots, the Jazz wanted him to shoot the fifth one. If Hood found himself lacking confidence, the team wanted him to find it by shooting more. Jazz coach Quin Snyder would even go so far this season as to bench Hood if he passed up open looks.

"We've been on him about that a lot," Utah guard George Hill said.

On Sunday night, on the biggest stage of the season, the message sank in — and Hood sank the Clippers.

Hood hit two gargantuan shots in the fourth quarter, as the Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 105-98 to tie the Western Conference first round playoff series at 2.

Up 94-92, Hood hit a 3-pointer from the left wing while the shot clock wound down, to give the Jazz a 97-92 lead. On the next possession, Hood created his own look, rising up and knocking home a floater in the lane for a 99-92 advantage.

Those two shots — combined with Joe Johnson's monster fourth quarter — allowed the Jazz to pull away. And as the Vivint Smart Home Arena sellout crowd rose to its feet, Hood shimmied — a rare public burst of bravado for him.

It was Hood's second shimmy of the season. His first came after a game- winning shot to beat the Dallas Mavericks in the regular season.

"I guess I like to shimmy when I hit shots on the left wing," Hood said. "I knew that I had to step up and make a play out there. They were doubling Joe, and they left me wide open. I had missed a couple of shots that I could've made. Joe trusted me to shoot it, and I just let it ride."

Hood had struggled most of the game before the end of the fourth quarter. To that point, he was 4 of 14 from the field, and with Gordon Hayward out in the second half with food poisoning, Utah trailed in part because of Hood's inability to knock down shots.

But the third-year guard out of Duke showed up when the Jazz needed him the most. He finished with 18 points, four rebounds and also played a significant role in the Jazz again holding Clippers shooting guard J/J. Redick to a subpar shooting game.

"This was a huge win for us," Hood said. "Especially because we lost the first one (Game 3) at home. But we found a way to win tonight, and now we have to go to Los Angeles, in front of their home crowd and find a way to win another one."

Twitter: @tribjazz