SALT LAKE CITY, UT – For the second straight game, the Golden State Warriors were pummeled and left to lick their wounds. Two back-to-back loses left the Warriors wondering what’s next?
Donovan Mitchell had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Utah Jazz routed Golden State 127-108 tonight at Vivint Smart Home Arena for their eighth win in a row. The Jazz are now 12-4, tied with the Clippers for the second-best record in the Western Conference, while the Los Angeles Lakers hold the best record in the NBA at 13-4.
“We just had two bad loses in a row and we got to assess everything,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re a team that has just been put together with a lot of moving parts. We just played a team that’s been together for years and you see how important continuity is. And we don’t have any continuity on this team.”
Stephen Curry finished with a team-high 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field. The five 3s he made for Golden State gave him 2,562 points in his career to surpass Reggie Miller for second place in NBA history. Ray Allen still holds first place with 2,973.
“It’s special,” said Curry said. “I tried to enjoy it [the record] in the middle of the game because I knew it was on the horizon. How much I looked up to him [Miller] growing up, watching him play against my dad and emulating a lot of things he did. Moving without the ball.”
Curry also had seven rebounds and seven assists, while James Wiseman added 15 points and Andrew Wiggins finished with 13. The Warriors trailed from start to finish. Utah shot 52-percent from the field in the first half.
The Jazz was nearly flawless in the first half, registering 18 assists on 28 baskets before halftime while committing only four turnovers. They finished with 28 assists on the night. Mike Conley scored 17 points and hit five of Utah’s 20 made 3s, who led 77-47 at halftime and ballooned their lead to 40 points early in the fourth quarter.
The Jazz jumped on Golden State early, scoring on their first five possessions of the game to build an early 14-0 lead. Conley and Royce O’Neale each nailed 3-pointers to jump start Utah’s offense.
“They got off to a good start and made shots,” said Draymond Green. “Our defense wasn’t good. And it kind of snowballed from there.”
Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 points, seven rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Rudy Gobert added 11 points and 14 rebounds as the Jazz had six players finish in double figures. Overall, the Jazz imposed their will on the Warriors on the glass all night.
Utah out-rebounded Golden State 57-35. Outside of Curry’s offense, the Warriors had trouble getting in gear missing nine of their first 10 shots. Golden State’s best flurry came midway in the first quarter where Curry scored four baskets and assisted on five others to help the Warriors cut the Jazz lead to 36-28. The Warriors made 12 of their final 15 shots in the quarter.
But Golden State could not get over the hump in the second quarter as Utah closed the first half on a 24-8 run. Jordan Clarkson’s 3-pointer with 10:05 left in the fourth quarter gave Utah a commanding 115-75 lead.
Following Sunday’s off day, the Warriors return to Chase Center to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
