Looking to rebound from a heartbreaking loss, the Golden State Warriors came into Utah Friday night to face the Jazz. The Jazz came out with a 110-100 victory. Utah led wire to wire and handled Golden State in a surprising fashion.
The Warriors never led in this contest, as they played with no energy and grit coming from a tough home loss to the Chicago Bulls. The defense gradually got better as the game went on. However, Golden State shot abysmal from beyond the arc once again tonight. They were also out-rebounded and committed several costly, lazy turnovers, as they drop their second in a row.
From the get go, the Warriors looked lost and seemed liked they were not there mentally again against an inferior opponent. Golden State again could not hit a three and achieved a record of missing their last 20 three-point shots over a two game span, until Stephen Curry finally broke that streak. The Warriors turned the ball over at an uncharacteristic rate, as of late, which aided the Jazz to gain an 11-point lead going into half time. The Warriors managed to gather some momentum and go on small runs and were even down by five with two and half minutes left in the first half. This was until the Jazz went on a 21-8 run that extended into the third and resulted with a 67-49 lead, which was too much for the Warriors to overcome.
The only player that really seemed to show up tonight was perennial MVP Stephen Curry. Curry was responsible for 32 points going 5 of 11 from beyond the arc. He also dished out six assists and grabbed seven boards. Fellow All-Star Klay Thompson had 12 points and Leandro Barbosa added 15 points off the bench. No other Warrior chipped in with a double-digit point effort tonight.
Golden State has to be tougher on the boards in the next game if they want to survive their rough stretch of games going into the All-Star break. When Stephen Curry is the second leading rebounder on a team with rebounders such as Andrew Bogut, David Lee, and Draymond Green, something needs to be done.
Six Jazz players scored in double-figures, led by forward Gordon Hayward's 27 points. Trevor Booker scored 17 points in 22 minutes, while Derrick Favors and Trey Burke both had 15 points, and Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles had 10 apiece.
Utah out-rebounded the Warriors, 55-41, and outshot Golden State 45 percent to 43 percent. The Jazz held the Warriors to 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc which is a feat all by itself. The Jazz played one of their best games of the season, beating the former number one team in the NBA.
Tonight’s loss marks the first time in two months that the Warriors don’t have the best record in the NBA. With this loss, the Warriors (36-8) were moved aside by the Atlanta Hawks (39-8) after their 18th straight victory tonight over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Warriors will have a pivotal matchup against these Hawks next weekend before the break.
The Jazz will look to continue their strong play against the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night in Portland. Thankfully for Golden State, they have a chance to rebound from this ugly loss tomorrow night at home against the Phoenix Suns.