The Utah Jazz came back home to Salt Lake down 0-2 and were going to be without starting point guard George Hill for the second consecutive game. The Golden State Warriors, meanwhile, came into Saturday's bout not having trailed at all during the series. They had all the momentum and confidence, preparing to take a 3-0 series lead.
Warriors jump out early
As I mentioned in the preview for this game, the Warriors did indeed jump out to an early lead but were unable to completely put away the crowd. After leading by 10 at the end of the first, the Warriors lead evaporated in the second period.
Led by Rudy Gobert, the Jazz took a one-point lead into halftime, as the crowd was fully engaged and roaring.
Jazz open up a lead, Warriors recover
The Jazz had plenty of momentum heading into the second half and took a nine-point lead midway through the third. However, the Warriors quickly recovered, erasing the deficit and even taking a two-point lead at the end of the third.
Fourth quarter dominance by Golden State
The first six minutes of the second quarter was evenly played until the Warriors put the clamps on defense and dominated the game late led by Kevin Durant. Stephen Curry, who was struggling for most of the game, also came alive in crunch time to help Durant pace the Warriors past the Jazz.
Suddenly, the Warriors opened up a 13-point lead and won, 102-91.
Durant finished with a game-high 38 points, while adding 13 rebounds on 15-of-26 shooting from the field. Despite his shooting woes during this game, Curry ended with 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists, shooting 6-of-20 from the floor.
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 29 points and six assists, going 13-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Gobert notched a huge double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds and shot 7-of-8 from the field. Starting in place of Hill, Shelvin Mack racked up 11 points, five assists, and four rebounds.
Key stats from tonight’s game
Utah’s bench was non-existent in this contest, accumulating 10 points. Quin Snyder basically used a seven-man rotation, hardly utilizing Derrick Favors and point guard Raul Neto and Dante Exum.
Favors just played six minutes, while Exum and Neto played three and two minutes, respectively. The Warriors also held Utah to 39 percent shooting and out-rebounded them, 51-42.
With the Warriors taking a 3-0 series lead, they will look to close out the Jazz Monday evening in Salt Lake. Although the Jazz have been playing hard, they simply haven’t had an answer for Golden State’s staggering offense. The Warriors have too many weapons, and it’s overwhelmed Utah.
