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Los Angeles • Give the Jazz credit on this one. They didn't run from the obvious.

They know they are young in terms of playoff experience. They know the Los Angeles Clippers have been under the bright lights of the postseason for much longer as a team.

Instead of shunning that narrative, they embraced it for Saturday night's Game 1 at the Staples Center.

"We're green," Utah coach Quin Snyder said.

The Jazz, especially the younger players, committed themselves to enjoying the moment and embracing the accomplishment of climbing from a 25-win team to one that won 51 games this season and finished in the fifth spot of the Western Conference.

How did they do this?

Acknowledging the youth among key parts of the roster served as the first step. Relaxing, while feeling excitement, was another step. In the moments before Game 1, power forward Derrick Favors sat in his locker room stall listening to hip-hop. Jeff Withey ate a plate of pasta. Shelvin Mack talked about the new Kendrick Lamar album. Indeed, the Jazz locker room was a haven of relaxation. It felt more like the Jazz were moments away from a preseason game, rather than starting the first postseason series the franchise has seen in five years.

"We're definitely embracing our youth," Favors said. "We want to go out here and enjoy the moment. We did the work to get here, it took a long time for us to get to this point. So now, we have to enjoy it. We're here to compete, and we have to go out here and play our game. But we're going to enjoy it."

Not surprisingly, Utah's veterans led the way in Saturday's first half. With Joe Johnson scoring 14 points, the trio of Johnson, George Hill and Boris Diaw combined to score 29 of Utah's 52 points. Joe Ingles — in his first NBA postseason game, but one with plenty of overseas big game experience — added another five points. So the Jazz veterans in all scored 34 points, showing the younger guys how to get it done.

Chippy series?

Jazz forward Gordon Hayward said he knows the series has the potential to get chippy, especially after a regular season that featured its share of confrontations.

"It's just natural, especially as a series gets longer," Hayward said. "We aren't going to back down. We're here to compete and play basketball. But at the same time, we know things could get a little physical."

A little off the top

Hayward's quaffed 'do has garnered all sorts of attention. The mysterious design shaved atop Rudy Gobert's head has, too.

So the Jazz are giving fans a choice of free haircuts a la Hayward or Gobert next week at a trio of local barber shops.

"I think the Rudy should get more success," Gobert said.

The Frenchman, however, had another suggestion for a look.

"The Joe Ingles is for the older men," he joked. "It's for the older people."

tjones@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribjazz