Golden State Warriors saw their win streak come to an end on Monday night as they lost to the Utah Jazz on their home floor. It was a packed Oracle Arena once again with 20 thousand fans in the stands cheering for the number one team in the Western Conference. The Warriors played without Klay Thompson in this one as head coach Steve Kerr gave him the night off. Kevin Durant played his second game after the injury that caused him to miss five weeks of playing time. The Jazz were also shorthanded in Monday's matchup as they played without their all-star small forward Gordon Hayward.
Close game to the end
It was a high scoring first quarter as both teams scored over 30 points in the first period, it was 33-32 for the Warriors. The Jazz, known for their defense this year, started playing some defense in that second quarter and held Golden State to just 18 points. It was 51-49 for the home team at halftime. Utah got it going in the second half as they outscored the Warriors in the third and in the fourth quarter. It was a back and fourth game all the way until midway of the fourth quarter. The Jazz then took an 85-84 lead and led all the way until the game was over. The final score was 105-99 for the Jazz team that now sits in the fifth spot in the Western Conference. They are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth spot that would give them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Utah outrebounded the defending Western Conference champions 49-42 and forced them to commit 13 turnovers. Quin Snyder's team made 13 three-pointers and finished the game with 29 assists. They were playing without their leading scorer Gordon Hayward in this one so George Hill took the role of the leader and scored 20 points to go along with five assists.
Joe Johnson contributed with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Rudy Gobert finished the game with a big double-double (17points and 18rebounds). Six Utah players finished the game with at least 10 points.
Win streak over
This game marked the first time that Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant played together since February 28th.
Durant finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds but he once again couldn't connect from behind the arc. He was 0-5 from the three-point land in this one. Curry led all scorers in the game with 28 points and he added four rebounds and four assists. Golden State's 14-game win streak is now over as they lose their first game since March 11th. They remain NBA's best team and will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
