Tag: Golden State Warriors

Warriors blow out Suns 129-83 for third straight win

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Phoenix Suns were the owners of one of the worst records in the NBA this season, but gave the Warriors a little bit of a tussle during the first 12 minutes of the game. They trailed 25-24 after one quarter of play, and it was as close as they would come close all evening. The Warriors pounded them the next three quarters and trounced the Suns 129-83 at Oracle Arena on Monday night.

The Warriors were without the services of Draymond Green Monday. Green sprained his index finger in the game Saturday night against the Spurs, and the Warriors felt that they could handle the Suns without him. Were they right? Yeah. Omri Casspi started in Green’s place and had his best night as a Warrior with a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors overwhelmed the Suns by 16 in the second quarter, 11 in the third, and 18 in the fourth quarter. During timeouts, Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr turned over his chalkboard to the players and they did a great job as the dominant Warriors swamped the hapless Suns.

Game Notes and Stats: The Suns were without the services of Devin Booker for the fourth straight game due to a hip pointer. The Suns cannot afford to lose Booker, who is a rising star in the NBA.

The Warriors shot 58.4% from the floor and held the Suns to just 34.7%.

The Suns were just 3-for-23 from 3-point range while the Warriors made 11 threes.

The Warriors recorded 36 assists and turned the ball over  11 times. On defense, the Warriors made eight steals and recorded 16 blocks.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 22 points, Kevin Durant had 17 points, six assists, and seven rebounds and he blocked two shots. Nick Young and Klay Thompson tallied 16. Patrick McCaw, who had played a couple of games in the G-League to help rebuild his confidence, scored nine.

The Suns were led by Elfrid Payton’s 29 points. Payton was playing his second game as a Sun since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Orlando Magic. The only other Sun in double figures was T.J.Warren with 14.

Up Next: The Warriors face the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday night in Portland. This will be the last game before the annual NBA All-Star game, which will be held in Los Angeles this weekend.

Thompson’s 25 points leads Warriors to a 122-105 beat down over Spurs

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs played a very competitive first half in Saturday night’s matchup at Oracle Arena. The Warriors led by three at the half, 58-55; but they once again owned the third quarter and went on to defeat the Spurs 122-105.

All five of the Warrior starters were in double figures. Klay Thompson, who scored 10 in the third quarter, led the team with 25 points. Draymond Green had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. He needed two more rebounds for a triple-double. By the way, he wasn’t called for a technical foul Saturday night. Zaza Pachulia, who celebrated his 34th birthday, scored 12 points. Steph Curry added 17 points. Kevin Durant was held to a season-low 10 points. However, Durant has been a force on defense and assisted on six buckets tonight.

The Spurs–who are always a dangerous team–kept pace with the Warriors for the first 24 minutes of the game. The Warriors pulled away in the third quarter as the Spurs are missing their leader, Kawhi Leonard, who’s out with a quadriceps injury that has caused him to miss most of the season. LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 each. Manu Ginobili, the ageless wonder, scored 13 coming off the bench. Marc Gasol tallied 7 for the purs.

Game Notes: The Warriors shot 56.5% from the floor and held the Spurs to 45.7%.

The Spurs were 5-for-27 from behind the three-point arc, while the Warriors made 12 3-pointers.

The Warriors recorded 35 assists and turned the ball over 16 times.

The win marked the 250th for head coach Steve Kerr. He became the fastest to recorded 250 wins in NBA history.

Steph Curry had this to say about Kerr: “It’s been an amazing 3 1/2 years and hopefully more to come.”

“It’s a lot about him setting the identity and the culture around our team and just being a great people guy. There’s probably a better term for that. He just knows how to relate to each, and every one of us players and his coaching staff and you’re building that ultimate trust throughout the organization.”

Up Next: The Warriors welcome the Phoenix Suns for the first time this season on Monday night in Oakland at 7:30 pm PT.

After a slow start, Warriors regain their mojo and rout the Dallas Mavericks 121-103

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: nba.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors did not get off to a good start Thursday evening at Oracle Arena against the Dallas Mavericks as they were outscored 33-23 in the first quarter. They were not playing defense nor were they scoring on offense, and the Mavericks raced out to an early 10-point lead.

The Warriors could not gain ground as they trailed by nine, 44-35, at one point. Then, veteran center David West sparked a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to one, 46-45. The two teams traded leads the rest of the way, and the first half was tied at 60.

The Mavericks took nine more shots in the half, but were held to just 46% from the floor. The Warriors shot 57.5% from the floor but made only four three-pointers in 13 attempts.

Draymond Green and Klay Thompson each hit a three-pointer to start the third quarter, but the Mavericks went on a 10-0 run to take a 70-66 lead. The Warriors continued to commit a lot of turnovers, and at one point in the game, they had committed 11, which allowed Dallas to score 17 points.

About halfway through the quarter, the Warriors apparently decided to play quality basketball as their defense improved and their offense clicked. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant led the Warrior attack, and they were able to build an eight-point lead, 93-86, at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors’ bench led by Green, David West, Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala, shut down the Mavericks’ offense as they broke the game open. Curry and Durant sat out during the final moments of the game. Thompson made a couple of key buckets, but was taken out with less than six minutes to play.

The Warriors defeated the Mavericks by a score of 121-103.

Game notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improved to 42-13 and the Mavericks’ record dropped to 17-38.

Former Warrior, Harrison Barnes, did not play for Dallas as he is recovering from an ankle injury.

The Warriors’ Big Four were all in double figures.

Green had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Durant led the team with 24. Curry had 20 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Thompson finished the night with 18, David West had 10, and the Warrior bench was productive with 39 points.

Mavericks veteran power forward Dirk Nowitzki is in his 20th season with Dallas and tallied 16 points. Former Stanford star, Dwight Powell, scored 18 points. Dennis Smith, Jr was impressive for the Mavericks with 22 points. Wesly Matthews added 17 points.

The Warriors stopped committing turnovers halfway through the third quarter and finished the night with 16. They are 31-4 when they commit 16 or fewer turnovers in a game.

The Warriors finished the night shooting 14-for-29 from the 3-point range. They also recorded 37 assists.

After the game, Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had quite a few things to say: “It took us a while to get going but I “liked the way we dug out.”

“Dallas controlled the first half but (I) didn’t feel we were in danger.”

“Liked the way Draymond fought. He was “just competing, but nothing was going down for him.”

” I think our talent took over in the third quarter. If we take care of the ball, we’re going to be in good shape.”

Up Next: The Warriors will be tested on Saturday as they welcome the San Antonio Spurs to Oracle Arena at 5:30 pm PT.

Thunder dominate Warriors at Oracle 125-105; Golden State drops third game in last four

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @NBA

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland — There have been many people expressing doubts about this years’ edition of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have not been able to get things goings. They have fallen behind too many times in the first half and have not handled the ball well or played defense as well as they have in the past three seasons.

The Thunder came into the game having lost four straight.

Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr wanted the team to get off to a fast start Tuesday night against the Thunder, but that did not happen.

The Thunder came out firing on all cylinders. They were led by Russell Westbrook, who looked to be unstoppable. The Thunder raced out to an early lead and never looked back as they swamped the Warriors 125-105.

The Thunder outscored them 42-30 in the first quarter, and they never let the Warriors climb back into the game. They moved the ball and defended the Warriors. They wouldn’t let Steph Curry or Klay Thompson get into any sort of rhythm. Kevin Durant was the only Warrior to get anything going against his former team.

Westbrook and Paul George made shot after shot and the Thunder’s big man, Steve Adams, had a huge night both on offense and defense.

No matter what Steve Kerr did, the Thunder had an answer. The Thunder led 70-57 at the half. The Warriors could do nothing in the third quarter as Paul George led the Thunder attack. The Warriors fell behind by 22 at the end of three quarters, and it is very rare for a team to win when they trail by that many so late in the game.

The Thunder kept the momentum going and they cruised to an easy 125-105 win over The Dubs.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors have now lost three out of the last four games they have played, and two of the losses were blowouts.

The Warriors are now tied in the loss column with 13 with the Houston Rockets, and the Rockets own the tiebreaker. If the teams end in a tie, Houston would have home court advantage.

The Warriors committed 25 turnovers Tuesday night.

The Warriors committed 25 turnovers in the Sacramento game, but were lucky to get a win. Many people are wondering when the Warriors are going to turn on the switch and start playing the way they have in the past three years. They are limping to the All-Star break, and hopefully, they can regroup and get back on track in time for the playoffs.

Durant led the scoring with 33. Curry had 21, but Thompson was held to 12. Draymond Green knocked down five. Green had seven assists and eight boards, but had to leave the game when has was called for his second technical foul of the night.

The refs called five technical fouls on the team in the game.

David West led the bench with nine, and Shaun Livingston had six.

The Warriors’ bench has not been as productive this year as it has been in previous years, and that may be a factor in the team’s recent lackluster performance.

George led the Thunder with 38. Westbrook had 34. Jerami Grant added 16, and Adams had 14.

The Thunder’s Carmelo Anthony suffered a sprained ankle early in the game and did not return to action. The win was OKC’s first in Oakland since 2013.

Up Next: The Warriors return to action Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Game time is at 7:30 pm PT at Oracle Arena.

Golden State Warriors Podcast with David Zizmor: After losing two straight teams going after champs and it’s taxing every night

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @957thegame

By David Zizmor

OAKLAND — Golden State Warriors hosting the Oklahoma Thunder tonight at Oracle Arena after coming off a couple road loses to Utah and Denver. The Warriors have nothing to fear after losing two in such close proximity. They’ve won titles and their carrying the league they’re favored to go all the way again this year.

For them to repeat the title, it’s not an accident for example they’ve had a lot fewer wins than they did last year. It’s really really stressful. It’s really, really straining, teams come at you every night because you have a chance at best and they go 100%. For the Warriors to keep up that effort and to fend it off every single night, it’s taxing and it’s really difficult.

Dave has much more on the Warriors podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors run out of gas in fourth quarter fall to Denver Nuggets 115-108

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, playing the back end of a back-to-back series in the Mile High City, lost to the Denver Nuggets 115-108. The Warriors finished the game against the Kings in Sacramento and then boarded a plane and flew to Denver for the game. They probably arrived at the hotel at 4 am and didn’t get much sleep before game time. While it is not an excuse, the record shows that the Warriors own a 5-24 record when having to play in Denver after playing a game in the Pacific time zone.

The Nuggets, under Mike Malone, are an up-and-coming young team and the Warriors will probably face them in the playoffs. The teams split the season series 2-2. The Nuggets have three stars under the age of 22, and they are just now becoming a formidable force in the NBA.

Both teams played a very spirited first half. The Warriors won the first quarter 32-29, but the Nuggets came back, and they trailed the Warriors by one at the half, 56-55. Klay Thompson was hot in the first quarter. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry led the attack in the second. Thompson finished the half with 14, Curry had 12, and Durant pitched in with 13. The Nuggets were led by Will Barton 15 and Gary Harris 12. Barton’s eyes light up when he plays the Warriors and tonight was no exception. The Nuggets take a lot of three-point shots. They were 7-for-16 in the half while the Warriors made just 4 three-pointers in 18 attempts.

The Warriors played well in the third quarter. They led 77-65 about halfway through the third quarter. The Nuggets did not cave, and they were able to reduce the deficit to just six at the end of three quarters of play. The Warriors could not increase the lead in the fourth quarter. Barton made a couple of three-pointers for Denver to give Denver the lead 102-99. The Dubs tied the game at 104, but the Nuggets’ big center, Nikola Jokic, made a three to give Denver the lead for good 107-104. The Warriors fell behind 113-105, and they were toast.  Denver prevailed 115-108.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors drop to 41-12, but still own the best record in the Western Conference. If they should finish with the same record as Houston, the Rockets have the tie-breaker and would have home court advantage over Golden State.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 31 points. Steph had 24. Klay scored just two points in the second half and finished with 16. Will Barton led the Nuggets with 25. Jokic tallied 19, Harris had 16, and Jamal Murray knocked down 15.

The Nuggets are now 28-25 for the years, and they could present problems to the Warriors should they meet in the playoffs.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 6th at 7:30 pm PT.

Sacramento Kings Friday game wrap: Warriors come to Sacramento hand Kings a 119-104 loss

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

gswsacscore

by Jordan Chapin

Sacramento – Friday night at the Golden 1 center, the Sacramento Kings returned home from their longest road trip of the year and were welcomed back by the the World Champion Golden State Warriors. Even with the return of Willie Cauley-Stein, Golden State handed the Kings their 35th loss of the year in a 119-104 Warriors victory. After winning three of their last four games, Sacramento came into the contest with a little momentum, but it was raining three balls in the Golden 1 Center, and not in favor of the Kings.

Sacramento came out of the gate hot, and started the game on a 20-7 run  led by Justin Jackson’s eight points in the first quarter. It didn’t take long for Golden State to close that gap with the help of Kevin Durant’s 17 point first half. The Warriors led 58-52 going into the locker room at halftime.

During the third quarter, Sacramento trailed as much as 14 points, but they continued to keep their heads above water as the Splash Brothers combined for 17 points in the period. Trailing 87-79 with 9:47 left to go, Sacramento’s Buddy Hield rattled off seven straight points, including back-to-back steals and cut the lead to just one, but that’s as close as the Kings would get to retaking the lead. KD put the team on his back scoring 13 points in the last 10 minutes of play, finishing his night with 33 points while shooting 12-for-17 from the field.

Even though the Kings forced 25 turnovers, it was not enough to overcome a stellar shooting night from the Warriors. The season series is now tied at one game a piece, and the Kings will not see the Warriors again until March 16th at Oracle Arena. The Kings have an opportunity to bounce back quickly as they will face the Dallas Mavericks Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back.

Sacramento Kings

Star of the Night: Justin Jackson

Jackson finished his night shooting 7-for-13 from the field for 17 points. He totalled 33 minutes for the game, but in those minutes he looked very aggressive, knocking down a couple three balls, and hitting his floaters from inside the paint. De’Aaron Fox on what he has seen from Justin Jackson, “Lately, he’s been great, his confidence has been up, he’s playing a lot, he’s making shots, something we know he can do.” Jackson was two points away from tying his career high.

Key Stats:

  • Forced 25 turnovers(19 points)
  • Shot 44.2% from the field and 40% from 3-point range
  • Led the game by as much as 13 points, but trailed as much as 17
  • Had six players in double figures, including all five of their starters
  • Six lead changes

Golden State Warriors

gswsacdurant

Star of the Night: Kevin Durant

Durant continued his all-star campaign with 33 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. KD hit shots when they mattered, scoring 17 in the first half, and 13 in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Warriors. Durant killed the Kings from behind the arc shooting 6-for-7 from downtown and finished hitting 12-for-17 from the field overall.

Key Stats:

  • Shot 17-for-33 from 3-point land
  • Had nine turnovers in the second quarter, which is a season high in TO’s for a quarter
  • Zaza Pachulia grabbed a game high 13 rebounds
  • Splash Brothers combined for 43 points
  • Out rebounded the Kings 51-33

Golden State Warriors Friday game wrap: Warriors turn ball over 25 times, still able to beat Kings 119-104

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: nba.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still smarting from a 30-point loss to the Utah Jazz, traveled to Sacramento to face the lowly Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. The Warriors have not lost two consecutive games in a row this season, and they were hoping the Sacramento would be their sacrificial lamb. The Kings, who beat the Warriors in Oakland the last time they met, had other thoughts. The Kings, who are in rebuild mode, gave the Warriors a fierce fight before succumbing 119-105. The 14-point lead at the end of the game was the biggest lead the Warriors had all night.

The Kings, coached by Dave Joerger, usually play a slow-tempo game. Most teams try to avoid an uptempo game with the Warriors as they know that the Warriors love to run and move the ball. The Warriors usually play great defense, and with the teams running up and down the court, the Warriors normally prevail. The Warriors did win but it wasn’t easy, and the game was much closer than the score at the end of the game. The Warriors played a very sloppy game as they were careless with their passes and careless handling the ball. The Warriors committed 25 turnovers and were still able to win. When the Warriors make more than 17 turnovers in a game, their record was 10-8 and less the 17, their record is 33-3.

The first two quarters of the game was competitive. The Warriors won both quarters by three points and led 58-52 at the half.  Kevin Durant led the club with 17, and Steph Curry added 13. The Warriors were able to take a nine-point lead after three periods 84-75, and it looked like they had taken control of the game. The Kings, to their credit, had other thoughts and made a run early in the final stanza to close the game to 89-88. The Kings’ Buddy Hield, who came to Sacramento last season in the trade the sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Crescent City, got hot and gave the Kings the spark they were looking for. The Warriors regained their composure to go on an 8-0 run to make it 97-88. That run seemed to knock the spirit out of the Kings, and the Warriors were able to put the game in the win column 119-105.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors were without four players Friday night. David West, Shaun Livingstone, Andre Iguodala, and Jordan Bell did not play. Bell is rehabbing from a sprained ankle, and Coach Steve Kerr gave the other three veterans the night off.

The Warriors shot 55% from the floor while holding Sacramento to 44.2%. The Kings, However, took 15 more shots than the Warriors. Had they been able to make some of those shots, the final score might have been different.

Durant led the Warriors with 33. Steph had 23, Klay 17, Draymond 13. Nick Young had 9, and JaVale McGee added 4. When McGee was in the game, the Warriors seemed to play with more energy.

The Kings had six players in double figures. They were running and finding the open man just as they were trying to emulate the Warriors’ style of play. Rookie De’Aaron Fox, who is on his way to stardom, tallied 14. Willie Cauley-Stein 13, the ageless Zach Randolph 18, Justin Jackson 17, Bogdan Bogdanovic 12, and Buddy Hield had 16.

The Warriors improve to 41-11 while the Kings drop to 16-35.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Denver Nuggets Saturday night in Denver.

Kings defeat the Pelicans 114-103 in NOLA to finish road trip with a 3-3 record

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings beat the Pelicans in New Orleans for the second time this season by downing the Pels 114-103 on Tuesday night. The victory allowed the Kings to finish their six-game, 13-day road trip with a surprising 3-3 record.

For the naysayers out there, yes the Pelicans were without DeMarcus Cousins who is out for the rest of the season after rupturing his left achilles last Friday versus the Rockets. The Kings were without the services of Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, Frank Manson, Malachi Richardson and their head coach Dave Joerger.

Why did the Kings win the game?

Two sets of stats really explain why Sacramento came away with the “W” Tuesday night. The Kings out-rebounded the Pelicans 49-36 but even more important than the over all numbers is the offensive rebound count.

SAC pulled down 14 balls off the offensive glass while NOLA grabbed just two offensive rebounds. The Kings scored 26 second chance points converting 10-of-11 opportunities. The Pelicans scored zero second chance points and literally had no second opportunities in the contest. It is virtually impossible to win a game playing one shot and done basketball in “the Association”.

Rebounding made the difference in the game for Sacramento in New Orleans.

Top Performers

Kings

  • Star of the Game honors go to Zach Randolph who scored a game-high 26 points and made it a double-double game posting 12 rebounds. Z-Bo shot 11-for-23 from the floor and hit 3-of-6 three-point attempts. The veteran big man also played very physical versus New Orleans star Anthony Davis.
  • Kosta Koufos earns Special Co-Star of the Game status by starting the game and playing 37-plus minutes to post a double-double of his own. Koufos put up 17 points and recorded 17 rebounds (seven offensive rebounds). Koufos hit 7-of-12 shots from the field.
  • Co-Star of the Game credit goes to De’Aaron Fox for scoring 15 points, hauling in six rebounds and dishing out four assists in 27-minutes of playing time. Fox had a +9 rating for his time on the court.

Pelicans

  • New Orleans Star of the Game honors go to reserve shooting guard Ian Clark who played over 29-minutes scoring 20-points while hitting 9-of-10 field goal attempts. Only one of his field goals was a 3-point conversion. Clark also recorded six rebounds.
  • Anthony Davis receives Co-Star credit for the game. With Boogie Cousins gone for the season, the weight of success falls squarely on the shoulders of Davis. He scored a team-high 23 points and made it a double-double by recording 13 rebounds. Davis went 9-for-10 from the free throw line.
  • Jrue Holiday gets a Best Supporting Player nod for contributing 20 points but he went just 9-for-20 shooting from the floor to score those points. Holiday did not post a single rebound.

Key Stats

Sacramento (16-34)

  • The Kings hit 46-of-97 shots (47.4-percent) from the field for the game. They took 20 more attempts than the Pelicans and made seven more field goals than New Orleans.
  • Sacramento converted 10-of-26 three-point attempts (38.5-percent) which was one more made 3-point field goal than the Pels hit in the game.
  • The Kings outscored the Pelicans in the paint 52-42.

New Orleans (27-23)

  • The Pelicans shot 50.6-percent from the field (39-for-77) for the game but it was 20 less attempts and seven less conversions than the Kings put in the books.
  • New Orleans won the battle of Fast Break points outscoring the Kings 23-22 for the game.
  • The Pels dished out more assists (26-22) than the Kings but they were not enough to turn the tide of the game.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings flew home after the game and were able to sleep in their own beds for the first time in 13 days. They will be off until Friday night when they have the unenviable task of hosting the world champion Golden State Warriors at the Golden 1 Center.

Pelicans

New Orleans will hit the road and will play the Thunder in OKC on Friday night.

Utah Jazz hit all the high notes as they blow out Warriors 129-99

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By: Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors had the best road record in the NBA, but ran into a buzzsaw Tuesday night as the Utah Jazz overwhelmed them 129-99 at the Vivant Smart Home Arena.

The Jazz started the scoring and led the entire way. The only time the Warriors came close was when the game was tied at eight apiece early in the first quarter. Utah’s head coach Quin Snyder found the recipe to shut down the Warriors’ vaunted offense. They pressured Steph Curry and hounded him at every turn. Curry was just one-for-seven from beyond the three-point arc. They also pressured Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Their strategy was to let the other Warriors beat them.

Utah’s offense was led by guard Ricky Rubio and forward Joe Ingles. Rubio hounded Curry all night and finished the night with twenty-three points and 11 assists for a double-double. Ingles was on fire. Ingles made six three-point shots in 8 attempts, and the Jazz shot 58.25 from the floor and was 14-for-28 from 3-point range.

In the first quarter, the Jazz raced out to a 35-30 advantage. The Warriors were close, and if they could get their game going, they could take the lead. They didn’t do that. They had a bad night on defense, and they were sloppy handling the ball. The Warriors failed to gain ground and trailed by 13 at the half (69-56).

It was more of the same in the second half. The Jazz did everything right, and the Warriors did not look like a championship team at all. The Jazz increased the lead to 18, and the Warriors rested their stars in the fourth quarter as they could not mount a charge. The Jazz wins 129-99.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors drop to 40-11.

The Jazz improved to 22-28.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points.

Kevin Durant had 17 while Steph Curry and JaVale McGee, of all people, tallied 14 each.

The Jazz controlled the boards. They made 16 steals and just 11 turnovers.

The Warriors, on the other hand, committed 19 turnovers. They just didn’t do a good job of handling the basketball Tuesday night. Donovan Mitchell, the high scoring rookie from Louisville, knocked down 20 and Derrick Favors, the other twin tower for Utah, had 18.

Up Next: The Warriors travel to Sacramento to face the Kings Friday night.

They will want to gain a measure of revenge as the Kings beat them the last time they met which was at Oracle Arena.