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Jazz point guard George Hill missed Game 4 Monday, his third consecutive game on the shelf with a toe injury.

Shelvin Mack again stepped into the starting lineup in Hill's place. Mack was the team's third-leading scorer (10.3 points per game) behind Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert through three games in the series.

"Well, we've been dealing with it all year," Hayward said about adjusting to Hill's absence. "Whether it's Shelvin, whether it's Raul [Neto], whether it's Joe Ingles or myself or one of the other wings running the point, we've had to deal with it all year. I think that's kind of helped us prepare for it a little bit, but also just the guys that are replacing, filling in for injured guys, are professionals. They've done a great job of staying ready and being prepared, and they've come in and given us a boost."

Mack finished with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists in over 23 mintes. Along with Mack, reserve point guards Raul Neto and Dante Exum saw action.

Iso Joe strugles to get open

Joe Johnson is a big reason the Jazz were able to get to the second round of the playoffs. The veteran forward lit the Los Angeles Clippers up in the first round, getting into the lane, scoring nearly at will. He hit a game-winner, made big shots in other games and became a near folk hero, locally.

The second round against the Golden State Warriors has been a different story for Johnson. He struggled with his shot, but also struggled to make plays off the dribble. Johnson was averaging 8.7 points in the series against the Warriors going into Game 4. He was shooting 33 percent from the field, and his struggles are one of the reasons the Jazz have had so much trouble with Golden State.

"People saw what Joe did against the Clippers and prepared for it," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "They prepare differently."

Indeed, the Warriors have given Johnson a lot of attention defensively with Kevin Durant and Draymond Green shadowing him.

"As much as anything, Joe is so unselfish, he's going to make the right plays in the right situations," Snyder said. "He's going to give the ball up and make the right plays and we've got to make plays as a group."

Hood hurt late

Jazz guard Rodney Hood suffered a right knee sprain on the first play of the fourth quarter. Hood drove the ball on Warriors forward Kevin Durant and landed awkwardly. He limped to the free-throw line and missed both shots. He then limped to the locker room. Hood went 1 of 5 from the floor and scored two points in 15 minutes.

tjones@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz