Tag: Utah Jazz

The Warriors hold off the Utah Jazz to win again

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Salt Lake City- The Golden State Warriors, playing the third game in four days and the second in the last two days, downed the Utah Jazz 106-99. The Jazz, playing with five players out with injuries, fell behind early and trailed by nineteen at the half, rallied to outplay the Dubs in the second half but fell short. The Jazz love to slow the pace of the game and try to get opposing teams out of rhythm. The Dubs, on the other hand, run the court and enjoy it when they get good ball movement and get players open for shots.

The Warriors played their style in the first half. The Jazz scored the first two buckets of the game to lead 4-0. TheWarriors then went on an amazing 26-1 run to lead 35-17 after one-quarter. Steph Curry made two 3-pointers early in the run. The Jazz played the Dubs even in the second quarter. Steph finished the half with 17, and Draymond Green was second in scoring with 12. He also made two 3-point shots and had eight rebounds. Patrick McCaw, coming off the bench added ten as the Dubs increased the advantage to nineteen 65-46.

The second half was an entirely different story. The Jazz held the Dubs scoreless for the first three minutes of the third quarter. The Dubs were out of rhythm, and that allowed the Jazz to get back into the game. They outscored the Dubs by seven in the period and closed the gap to just twelve 82-70 after three-quarters. The Jazz refused to go away and the Warriors behind Kevin Durant’s strong play in the second half were able to play just well enough to win the game. Dubs win 106-99

Game Notes- With the win, the Warriors improve to 20-3 while Utah falls to 14-10. Shaun Livingstone had the night off. Backup guards Patrick McCaw, and Ian Clark played well. McCaw had ten points all in the first half and Clark nailed two 3-point shots in the fourth quarter that helped seal the win for Golden State. Kevin Durant, who scored just four points in the first half, finished the game with twenty-one points. Durant also recorded eleven rebounds to give him a double-double. Draymond Green also had a double-double. Green scored thirteen and had ten boards. Steph Curry led the team with twenty-six. Klay Thompson scored ten. The Warriors, loaded with talent, do not have to rely on one or two players to carry the load. The entire team makes contributions both on offense as well as defense. In Thursday’s game, Andre Iguodala, Kevon Looney, JaVale McGee, David West, Ian Clark, and Patrick McCaw all made significant contributions. Draymond Green hurt his ankle late in the third quarter. Green was helped off the court and went to the dressing room for treatment. Draymond returned to the bench in the fourth quarter and returned to action.

Joe Johnson with 13, Shelvin Mack(19), Rudy Gobert(20), and Joe Ingles(21) carried the attack for Utah. Steve Kerr said this about the Jazz:”give them a lot of credit.They are a well-coached team.”  Kerr said the Dubs”didn’t play our best.The first quarter was great, intensely fantastic.” He also thought Patrick McCaw had a nice game.

The Warriors travel to Memphis for game three of the five-game road trip on Saturday. Game time will be at 4 pm. After the game, the Dubs are off to Minneapolis to face the Timberwolves on Sunday.

 

 

Kings lose strange game to Jazz 108-99

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings fell into one of the dreaded “black holes” that George Karl has talked about all season on Sunday. The problem for the Kings was the “black hole” did not last for five to eight possessions as usual. This “black hole” lasted for 24 minutes or the entire first half of the game.

The Kings – who never had a lead in the game – fell behind by 23 points in the opening half. Sacramento lacked energy and defensive effort and Utah took advantage of the situation. The Jazz shot 59.0-percent from the floor in the first half and went 8-for-14 (57.1-percent) from beyond the 3-point line. Sacramento appeared to be victims of the change to Daylight Savings Time, but the situation was not that simplistic.

Karl even went to a different rotation of Gay, Cauley-Stein, Cousins, Curry and Rondo in order find some defense to start the third quarter, and it worked. In fact, Karl stated it may have been the best second half defensive performance of the season from his team.

The Kings held the Jazz to 47 points in the second half. Sacramento outscored Utah 54-47 for the half, but Kings had dug a hole for themselves in the first half that was ultimately too deep to climb out of in the final 24.

Sacramento cut the Utah lead to just five points with 23.1 seconds left in the game. They just ran out of time to get enough possessions to overcome the Utah lead and the Kings lost the game 108-99.

It was the second consecutive win for the Jazz (31-35) who beat Washington at home on Friday night. Utah came into the game in ninth place in the Western Conference two games behind Houston and Dallas for the eighth and final playoff slot. The victory on Sunday really helped the Jazz to keep their playoff dreams alive.

The Kings (25-40) have lost five games in a row and have lost six straight at home. Mathematically, the Kings still have a chance at the playoffs. Realistically, the Kings have no shot at the playoffs.

Kings

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins who scored a game-high 31 points in return from his one-game suspension. It was a double-double game for Cousins who recorded 10 rebounds and five assists. He converted 8-of-11 free throw opportunities.

Omri Casspi provided some real punch off the bench scoring 20 points in just 26 minutes of playing time. Casspi shot 8-for-12 from the floor and went 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point line.

Darren Collison scored 14 points in a starting role while Cauley-Stein scored 10, Rondo 7, Gay 6, Curry 5, Koufos 4 and Acy 2. Marco Belinelli had a five-game streak of scoring in double figures broken as he scored no points in 11 minutes on floor.

As a team, the Kings shot 46.9-percent from the floor and were a respectable 9-for-21 (42.9-percent) from 3-point land. The team struggled at the free throw line hitting on just 14-of-21 attempts (66.7-percent). Sacramento turned the ball over 12 times giving up 22 points on those miscues.

The Kings were outrebounded 47-36.

Jazz

Derrick Favors (28) and Gordon Hayward (27) led the Jazz scoring effort. Favors shot 10-for-16 from the floor to go with 14 rebounds. Hayward shot 9-for-19 from the field including four 3-point baskets.

Shelvin Mack had a strong game at point guard scoring 14 points and dishing out eight assists. Mack shot 5-for-11 overall and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

The Jazz shot 47.6-percent from the floor and hit on 12-of-28 3-point opportunities. Utah really helped themselves at the free throw line going 18-for-22 (81.8-percent). The Jazz turned the ball over 16 times giving up a total of 16 points due to those mistakes.

What they said after the game

DeMarcus Cousins spoke the press after the game and allowed his teammates the opportunity to quietly slip out of the locker room. It was also the first time Cousins faced the press since serving his one-game suspension.

When asked to describe the game, Cousins replied, “Terrible first half and better second half.”

Cousins was asked where he is mentally after the suspension and he said, “I’m here.”

The Kings center responded to being asked to evaluate the last seven weeks for the team by saying, “It is the level of fight. There’s a lot of frustration in this locker room. I believe everyone believes that we should be a lot better than we are. We’re just frustrated that we’re not. We haven’t performed to the level of expectations so it’s a lot of frustration with that.”

Cousins also talked about his suspension. He feels that it was a coach’s suspension not a suspension generated by the organization. Cousins feels there is a big difference between the two.

Up next

The Kings will travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Tuesday night. It will be the last time they face Kobe Bryant as an active player. The Lakers game is the front end of a back-to-back that will be completed on Wednesday night in Sacramento when the New Orleans Pelicans visit Sleep Train Arena.

Utah returned home after the game and will host King James and the Cavaliers on Monday night in Salt Lake City.

 

Golden State Warriors Wednesday post game wrap: The Warriors continue to win at home, defeat the Utah Jazz

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors continued to win at home Wednesday night. They beat the Utah Jazz by a score of 115-94. It was the Warriors 28th straight win at home this season and 46th in a row. The  Warriors leader and best player, Steph Curry, scored just twelve points in the game. He did make three three-point shots and one he made at the first half was the turning point in the game. The Jazz’ only hope to win the game was to slow down the pace of play and they were successful at it for most of the first half.  The Dubs led by two 23-21  at the end of the first period. The Dubs just couldn’t get their game going until late in the second period. Steph made two threes to put Golden State in the lead by eleven at the end of the half 52-41. Steph made a three-pointer from halfcourt at the buzzer to send the Dubs into the locker room to ignite the crowd and the team.

The story of the second half and the game was the impressive performance of the bench as well as starter Draymond Green. Green , who had been a shooting funk, knocked down seventeen points to go with five assists, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. The other half of the Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, led the Dubs with twenty-three. Mo Speights, Leandro Barbosa and Anderson Varejao all were terrific off the bench. Speights had sixteen points, four assists, and five rebounds. Barbosa pitched in with thirteen and Varejao added nine. The bench accounted for fifty-three points in the win.

Notes- Steph had ten assists and the Dubs recorded thirty-six assists in total for the game. Leading scorers for Utah were Trey Burke with eighteen off the bench and Rudy Gobert had fifteen rebounds.

The Warriors improved to 57-6 for the season and are looking forward to meeting the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night at the Oracle Arena.

DMC and Gay lead Kings to victory, 103-101, over Jazz

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by Michael Martinez

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Image

SACRAMENTO- Heading into Thursday night’s game the Sacramento Kings were 2 games back behind their opponent, the Utah Jazz. Sacramento, 5-12 on the road, looked to come back from a bad loss the night before against the Pelicans. The Kings found a way to hold their opponent to a low shooting percentage, at least for three quarters, with tough perimeter defense while getting the ball inside to DeMarcus Cousins who had a tremendous game. The Kings shot the ball well and were able to just hold on to pick up the win against the Jazz, 103-101, at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

As the game got underway the Kings looked like the better team all the way. The team’s defense was tremendous and Utah could not make any shots. Willie Cauley-Stein got off to a great start putting up six quick points while playing tremendous defense. Cauley-Stein’s quickness as a big man has benefitted the Kings and his hustle does not go unnoticed.

Cousins did not do a ton of scoring in the first quarter, six points, but did a good job of moving the ball around for his teammates while picking up eight early rebounds. The Kings shot the ball well, while holding the Jazz to a 16.7% shooting percentage. The Kings did a great job of continuing their run as Utah went about eight minutes without a field goal. Gordon Hayward bricked a lot of shots and found a couple buckets at the charity stripe. Sacramento held the Jazz to 12 points, the lowest of any Kings’ opponent this season, giving them a 1st quarter lead 26-12.

The Jazz looked to have a better second quarter, but the Kings held them in check again. In full, Utah went nine minutes and 19 seconds without a field goal before Trevor Booker got a put back dunk for a field goal. After struggling all season with perimeter defense, the Kings were much improved in the first half, although there were a lot of fouls, 17 in the first two quarters for the Kings. The quarter consisted of a lot of free throws, 12-18 for Sacramento, and 9-13 for the Jazz.

Boogie came out stronger in the second quarter, totaling 18 points and 13 rebounds in the half, his sixth consecutive double-double. With DMC’s scoring ability the Kings were able to hang on to the lead although the Jazz outscored them 33-30 after shooting the ball much better. Trey Lyles and Raul Neto totaled 10 points for a team high as the Kings held the lead 56-45 heading into the locker room on 54.3% shooting. Utah shot 1/16 from 3 point range, much improved for Sacramento’s perimeter defense. The Kings scored a field goal with 1.6 seconds on the clock as Rajon Rondo passed the ball all the way up court to Darren Collison who missed the lay-up but Boogie cleaned it up with a dunk as the red lights lit up the backboard.

After the half time break, Hayward finally made a field goal after going 0-9. Cousins answered right back with his tremendous scoring ability. Rondo kept showing off his vision and passing ability with a pass on a very tight window to Rudy Gay for an alley-oop. Cousins continued his scoring ability with his first three pointer in the ball game in the third quarter. And Rondo once again got Gay the ball for another alley-oop later in the quarter. Both teams shot well and both Gay and Cousins showed off their scoring abilities. Gay scored eight in the quarter while Cousins scored 10, both shooting 3-5 from the field. The Kings got to the line 10 times and converted eight free throws. Hayward had a much better quarter, scoring nine points on 3-6 shooting.

Cousins produced the game high in three quarters with 28 points and Gay had 16 for the second highest point total. The Kings shot the ball well once again with a 54% percentage through three quarters, which is something they have done well all season. Through three quarters the Kings totaled 42 points in the paint and got the ball inside to Boogie a lot. Boogie has scored 15.7 points in the paint per game in the month of January as the Kings continue to dominate their opponents close to the rim. Their dominance allowed them to hang on to the lead although Hayward hit a buzzer beater heading into the fourth. Sacramento led the Jazz 82-71 with 12 minutes remaining.

To open up the final quarter, Omri Casspi knocked down a three pointer, something he has done well all season. Down 85-71 the Jazz found a rhythm and went on a 9-0 run in a minute and 50 seconds. The run consisted of a Casspi foul and technical, which gave Utah three easy points as Trey Burke connected on the free throw. Cauley-Stein stopped the bleeding with a put back dunk, but Utah kept hanging around. Gay struggled from three but Cousins was able to hit a big 3 pointer of his own to put the Kings back up by 10. Utah maintained a way to stick around with the Kings who could not find a way to put the Jazz out.

With two minutes and 55 seconds left the Kings held a six point lead over the Jazz and Cauley-Stein helped maintain that lead with a big rejection, showing off his athletic ability. But Gay fouled Rodney Hood behind the arc, which led to three shots from the charity stripe. Hood connected on all three cutting the lead to five. The Kings started to struggle and went three minutes and 16 seconds without a make but Cousins then proceeded to score. Rondo fouled Burke, which set up a three point play as the Jazz kept scrapping.

As time wound down, Hood hit a second chance three pointer to cut the lead to five one again. With 33 seconds left, Gay got to the foul line and made one of the two free throws. In just under four seconds, Hayward took the ball down the court, got fouled and made a circus shot to get the and one. Hayward made the bucket and forced the Kings to called a timeout, up 101-98 with 29.2 seconds remaining.

Out of the time out, Rondo took the shot and missed it, as the Jazz gained possession with 8.5 seconds remaining. Utah’s Joe Ingles took the three point shot and made it to tie the game at 101. Sacramento took a 20 second time out with 4.8 seconds remaining and drew up a play for Gay who scored well all night. Gay got the ball and hit a mid-range jumped that was good with 0.6 seconds left. Utah heaved up a miracle shot that had no chance and the Kings picked up a rare victory on back to back games especially on the road. The final score, 103-101, as the Kings just barely pulled out a W.

Amongst rumors of a proposed trade for Pelican’s forward, Ryan Anderson, Gay played an awesome game. Number eight finished the night with 24 points, 9-17 from the field, adding nine rebounds and three steals while knocking down the game winner.

DMC was once again unstoppable, finished with 36 points, 10-21 shooting, and adding 14 free throws on 21 attempts. Boogie also added 17 boards. Cousins has led the NBA in points in the month of January with 32.3 points per game. Cousins showed off his scoring ability once again with his inside dominance as Utah had no big man to cover him with Derrick Favors out. And Rondo continued to dish the ball out adding 13 assists, while adding 6 points and 6 rebounds.

Overall, Sacramento got careless with the ball, 16 turnovers but still shot well. Their defense looked good for three quarters but really let up towards the end although they were much improved. The team also dominated the rebounding category, 54-38. Cauley-Stein was a great spark for the Kings who looked better tonight as they continued to chase the Jazz for the eight seed.

On Saturday, the Kings will take on the Clippers in Los Angeles and will need Cousins to continue his hot start in the new year. The whole Kings crew is going to have to come together as the team is finally healthy and looks to beat a team in their conference and division. The Kings have struggled against really good teams so Saturday night will be a big test.

Warriors Narrowly Keep Streak Alive, Fend Off Jazz In A 106-103 Thriller.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors have been so dominant this season that many may have pushed the idea of actually losing a game out of their mind. That scenario nearly came to fruition on Monday night as the Utah Jazz took the Warriors to the brink in a hard-fought contest in Salt Lake City, as Golden State managed to escape with a 106-103 win on the road.

The narrow victory was a star studded affair, as Golden State leaned on its studs, including Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, to deliver them the road victory to keep their unbeaten streak alive. Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, while scoring some crucial buckets in crunch time late in the fourth quarter. Green added 20 of his own, including a crucial put back bucket to take the lead in the fourth quarter while drawing the foul. Thompson also added 20 of his own.

The score was tied with just under two-minutes to go after a Curry step-back notched things up at 99. Curry couldn’t put through a fastbreak layup on the next Golden State possession, but Green’s hustle put him in a position to clean up the miss and give the Warriors a 101-99 lead.

Golden State would foul on their next possession, sending the Jazz’s Derrick Favors to line, who would sink both free throws as apart of his 23-total points on the night, again notching things up at 101 each. But with the game on the line, the Warriors looked to their MVP to lead them out of danger, and Curry delivered.

The NBA’s best shooter would show off his skills with the game on the line, crossing over a Utah defender and stepping behind the arc to nail a three pointer to put his team up again. The Jazz would look to threaten the Warriors lead yet again, but a loose ball off a miss found its way to Curry’s hands, who would be sent to the line to seal the victory following a pair of free throws.

The three-point victory was the slimmest margin thus far for the Warriors, who remain unbeaten with a 19-0 victory. The 8-8 Jazz aren’t the bottom feeders of the NBA by any means, nor are they the league’s elite. But with the Warriors continuing to chase even more records, it served as a stiff reminder that anything can happen in this unpredictable league. It also showed that the Warriors have not forgotten how to scrap their way to a win, as they continue to find ways to do so no matter the scenario.

The Warriors road trip continues on Wednesday, with the team flying to Charlotte to take on the Hornets in the second game of this seven game road series.

 

Sacramento Kings Can’t Hold Off Jazz, Fall 103-91

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By Shawn Whelchel

The injury ridden Sacramento Kings could not stave off a late scoring run by the Jazz on Wednesday night, as Utah went on to clinch the season series with a 103-91 win at home.

Sacramento was without two of their top scorers in the lineup on Wednesday, as DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Darren Collison were all held out of action with their respective injuries. Omri Caspri led the Kings makeshift starting lineup with 16 points, while Jason Thomas followed with a double-double on 12 points and 11 boards.

Despite their lack of starting depth, the Kings headed into the locker room at halftime with a six point lead over the Jazz, who struggled to get on the board early. But the Jazz would come out stronger in the third, outscoring Sacramento by 8 in the quarter to regain control of the game.

The two teams traded buckets early in the fourth before the Jazz would go on a 15-0 run with a little over 9 minutes left in the game to secure the victory, and the season series, against Sacramento. The Kings were brought down by poor perimeter defense in the second half, allowing the Jazz to dump in 10 three-pointers in their comeback effort.

Rodney Hood led Utah with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Derrick Favors followed him with a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. Utah finished with six players in double figures.

Despite the Kings being poised to end the season on a sour note after losing six of their last seven games, fans of the team were treated to a historic moment with just under 20 seconds to go in the game as Sim Bhullar, the 7’5 giant recently acquired by Sacramento, became the first person of Indian decent to score in the NBA after dumping in a nifty jump hook in the middle of the post. He finished the game with just those two points.

The Kings will travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Friday night.

The Jazz upsets the Warriors

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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

Saturday night at 7:30pm PT.

Warriors win Seventh in a row

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AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

by Jerry Feitelberg
AP293028374448.jpg

The Golden State Warriors travelled to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz Tuesday night. The Jazz are in a rebuild mode but they have a good nucleus of young and talented players and they gave the Dubs a go at it for the first half of the game but the Warriors blew it open behind the stellar play of all-world guard Steph Curry as they won by double digits for the seventh straight game downing the Jazz by a final score of 116-105.

The Jazz came into the game with a record of 13-25 while the Dubs have the best record in the NBA.

They are 29-5 and have won six in a row before start of play. The Jazz played the Dubs tough and led by seven at one point in the second quarter. The Warriors fought back and tied the score at 53 to end the first half. The Warriors were led by Steph Curry’s twelve points and seven assists. Draymond Green came through with nine points while Klay Thompson and Mo Speights had five. The Warriors bench was credited with 8 assists in the half and the Dubs had nineteen total assists so far.

The Jazz were led by their big center Enes Kanter who had eleven points and another young power forward ,Derrick Favors, put in nine. Small forward Gordon Hayward also had nine for the Jazz in the half.

The game changed in the third period. The Warriors were able to get their rhythm going and they moved the ball well running the floor with great passing from Steph Curry and Andrew Bogut. They were lights out from three point range as they made eight three-point shots and scored forty-four points to break open the game. The Jazz did not quit. They played hard and kept trying to come back but the Warriors kept them at bay. Curry ad fifteen points and four assists and did not play in the fourth quarter.

The second unit played the entire fourth quarter and the Warriors won 116-105.

Notes-The Warriors won the seventh game in row by double digits. Andrew Bogut was back in the starting lineup and he played well. His passing game was outstanding and he rebounded and blocked shots. Not a bad night for Bogut. Steve Kerr became the first coach in NBA history to go 30-5 in his first year at the helm.

Curry led the Warriors with 27 points and 11 assists. Draymond Green had fifteen while Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes put in twelve each. The Jazz was led by Favors 22 points and 11 rebounds. Enes Kanter’s night ended with him putting in 13 points and getting 10 rebounds. His teammate, Rudy Gobert scored 12 and got 11 rebounds. These three young men will be the nucleus for the Jazz as they rebuild the team.

After the game, Steph Curry said “we’re pretty hard to stop.” Quite an understatement. Coach Kerr, talking about curry had this to say” he’s electric-just incredible.” and that (Curry)”took over the game in the third period.” Commenting on the team’s overall performance Kerr said this”that’s our game to move the ball and when we move the ball ball we move the defense.’ By having ball movement the Warriors are able to get the ball to the open man and their chances of scores increases. Kerr said that

the level of play in the third period “was a clinic.”

The Warriors return home Wednesday to meet the Miami Heat (16-21) at the Oracle Arena.

Warriors win fourth straight game, drop Jazz

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — You think after having four days off would make you sluggish.

Don’t tell that the Golden State Warriors.

Fueled by a 12-0 run to open up the game, Golden State found themselves up 28-13 after the first quarter, 54-32 at halftime, and 85-57 before Utah outscored the Warriors 31-16 but it wasn’t enough as Golden State picked up their fourth straight win Friday night 101-88 over the Jazz at Oracle Arena.

Andre Iguodala led six Warriors in double figures with 17 points, Harrison Barnes finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, Klay Thompson had 14 points, and Marreese Speights scored 14 points for the Warriors who shot 50 percent from the field (41-of-82).  The Warriors

Golden State, came into the game leading the NBA in shooting percentage (49.9), and holding opponents to an NBA-low 41.1 percent from the floor. Golden State held the Jazz to 42.7 percent (35-of-82) from the floor.

“We contested shots and made it difficult to pass the ball,” said Andrew Bogut. “We have good chemistry out on their on the floor.”

Bogut finished with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting (his third straight game shooting at least 74 percent from the floor), and Draymond Green finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for Golden State (9-2), who are off to their best start since the 1972-73 season.

Stephen Curry, who is fourth in the NBA in scoring at 24.8 points per game, finished with just eight points, but dished out 10 assists and five rebounds.

The real story in the game was the Warriors commitment to not turning the ball over, which has been the team’s forte early in the season. Golden State dished out 19 assists to just two turnovers in the first half, before finishing with 28 assists and 13 turnovers for the game. The Warriors came into tonight’s game second in the NBA averaging 25.5 assists per game.

“I thought there was a little rust, offensively early,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.” “I told the guys if we took care of the ball and share the ball, we can win a lot of games.”

Enes Kanter had 18 points, Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward scored 12 apiece, and Derrick Favors finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz (5-8), who have lost their fourth game in their last six.

Trey Burke finished with two points on 1-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Golden State now will hit the road for five games in nine days that starts Sunday against an Oklahoma City (3-11) team that is missing it’s two superstars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

 

Curry, Bogut steer Dubs past Jazz

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By Joe Hawkes

SALT LAKE CITY — So much for the Warriors inability to win back-to-games.

Stephen Curry scored a season-high and game-high 44 points, and Andrew Bogut scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, helping Golden State to a 95-90 victory over the Utah Jazz Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Curry recorded his fifth 40-point game of his career, all on the road.

Golden State (29-19) picked up back-to-back wins for the first time since their recent 10-game winning streak in three weeks. Golden State took out the Los Angeles Clippers. 111-92, Thursday night at ORACLE Arena.

Curry was just deadly, shooting 14-of-26 from the field, including 8-of-13 from 3-point range.

Harrison Barnes, starting for the injured David Lee, scored eight points, but shot 2-for-10 from the field. Lee sat out tonight’s game with a left shoulder and hip injury. The Warriors are off until Tuesday when they host the Charlotte Bobcats (21-27), which will allow their power forward time to get healthy.

Klay Thompson had 11 points, but was a dreadful 3-of-20 from the floor, while Andre Iguodala finished 1-of-6 from the field with four points.

Golden State held the edge in points in the paint, outscoring Utah 36-28 down low.

Alec Burks led all scorers for Utah with 26 points off the bench, while Enes Kanter had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Jazz (16-30).

Diante Garrett chipped in 13 points off the bench.

Golden State swept the season series from Utah (3-0), and have won consecutive games in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1981.

“We knew we need to win this game to validate last night’s (against the Clippers) game,” said Curry after the game.