by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still smarting from the loss to Chicago Tuesday night, travelled to Salt Lake City to square off against the lowly Utah Jazz. The Jazz , with a record of 16-30 before start of play, had other thoughts and stunned the Warriors 110-100 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. The Jazz led wire to wire and the Warriors probably played their worst game of the year. The Jazz out rebounded, out hustled, defensed better and would not the Dubs get their running game going and had and answered every challenge that the Warriors threw at them.

The first period set the tone for the game. Utah took a 13-8 lead halfway through the first period.

The Warriors were cold and could score just nineteen points. It was the lowest scoring first period all year for the Warriors. The Jazz increased the lead to eleven at the end of the first half 56-45. Steph Curry finally knocked a three point shot late in the first half to end an 0 for 20 drought going back to the Chicago game. The Jazz continued to play well and the Warriors were hampered by sloppy ball handling and they were hoping to get their offense going and to stop the Jazz on defense. They could no neither. The Jazz had a 99-83 lead with 5:41 to play. The game got a little closer when Leandro Barbosa entered the game. Barbosa scored sixteen points in 13 minutes of action but it was too little,too late as the Warriors lost their second game in row for the third time this year.

Notes- Steph Curry was the only potent force in the Warrior lineup as he scored thirty-two points and had seven assists and three steals. Klay Thompson, who had been very hot, was cooled off and he scored just twelve points and had two rebounds. The only other Warrior in double figures was Barbosa.

Andrew Bogut played twenty-three minutes but all he could produce was four points, four rebounds and four assists. He may have been feeling the effects of the flu as he sat out the Chicago game.

David Lee, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala just couldn’t get their games going

as the loss was very ugly.

Stars for the Jazz were forward Gordon Hayward who had twenty-six points and fifteen rebounds Trevor Booker and Trey Burke, coming off the bench had seventeen points, seven rebounds and three assists and Burke had fifteen points and seven assists.

The Warriors were out rebounded 55-41 and the Jazz dominated both the offensive and defensive boards. The Warriors shot 43% from the floor but the Jazz was slightly better 44.7%.

After the game, Warrior coach, Steve Kerr, said" it’s hard to win. You need energy and focus and we didn’t have it. They(the Jazz) are a hungry and young team and they took it to us."

The Warriors are now 36-8 for the year and return home to the Oracle Arena to face the Phoenix Suns

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