Guard Klay Thompson (11) for the Golden State Warriors is seen here in the first half after making one of his baskets. Thompson finished leading with 32 points against the Utah Jazz at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sun Apr 7, 2024

By Barbara Mason

In the absence of Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Golden State Warriors dismissed the Utah Jazz 118-110. Klay Thompson had the high for the Warriors with 32 points and Jonathan Kuminga scored 21 points off the bench in his return. Kuminga did not miss a beat after missing six games.

Curry was not in Sunday night’s lineup taking this game off for some much needed rest. Wiggins continues to struggle with an ankle issue, Dario Saric is out with a knee injury and Gary Payton II was listed as probable. Kuminga was originally reported as out but he did take the court off the bench.

Thompson led the starters playing alongside Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Chris Paul and Brandin Podziemski. Kuminga was a sight for sore eyes playing off the bench. He has been sorely missed.

Golden State stomped the Jazz in the first 12 minutes leading after the first quarter 41-28 setting the tone for this runaway game. The Warriors outscored the Jazz in the second quarter and led at the half 68-54.

The Warriors went on to win the third quarter 29-23 leading 97-77 going into the fourth quarter. At about the six minute mark, Golden State’s bench took the court for the remainder of the game. Thompson and Green sat for most of the fourth quarter.

The final score was in favor of the Warriors 118-110. This win clinched at least a spot in the four-team play-in tournament in fact they were in before this game even got underway. Houston lost in overtime to the Dallas Mavericks 147-136 and finished the Rockets bid for a playoff spot.

Thompson had the high score of 32 points for the game with five rebounds and went 6 of 13 from beyond the arc. From the start of the game, Thompson knew he would be expected to handle the bulk of the scoring in the absence of Curry and he did not disappoint. Thompson hit seven of his first ten attempts.

Missing this game gave Curry a break of several days. He has already played in 71 games this season and really needed a few days off. Curry has not played this many games in any one season for quite a few years. This rest will get him ready to finish off the season next week especially in their highly anticipated game with the Los Angeles Lakers next Tuesday.

Kuminga was excellent despite his time away from the team with 21 points off the bench. He had missed six games with tendonitis in both knees. Besides the 21 points he also had ten rebounds so he did not miss a beat in his return.

The Warriors have won all three meetings against the Jazz this season with one more meeting to finish off the regular season. Golden State will have Monday off before taking on a huge game Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

That game will be played in Los Angeles and promises to be a real barn-burner. The Lakers took on the Timberwolves Sunday night without LeBron James and Anthony Davis who went down in the first half.

It is not known if either of them will be available on Tuesday night. At the time of this post the Lakers had made a run after trailing at the half 79-64. Minnesota had led by as much as 20 points when the Lakers pulled to within five points 90-85. As the fourth quarter got underway the Timberwolves had established a 106-92 lead at 9:09 in the fourth quart

Game notes: With only five games left in the 2024 season the Warriors took on the Jazz at Chase Center Sunday evening. The Warriors continue to hang onto tenth place in the Western Conference with the Lakers and the Kings tied for eighth place. It will be a tight finish for a number of teams including the Warriors.

Tipoff for Tuesday night’s game between the Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers is scheduled for 7:00 PM.