The Utah Jazz were on the brink of elimination from this year's playoffs on Monday night. They hosted the Golden State Warrios in Game 4 of their second round playoff matchup with Golden State leading the series 3-0. The Jazz were hoping they could win at least one game in front of their fans at Vivint Smart Home Arena and avoid a 4-0 series sweep.
They played without their starting point guardGeorge Hill again.
He missed his third consecutive game with a left big toe sprain. The Warriors entered Monday's matchup having won seven straight games this postseason and were looking to advance to the Conference Finals for the third straight time.
Warriors win in a blowout fashion, dominate on the boards
Golden State made six of their first eight shots early in the first quarter, and the "Splash Brothers" (Thompson and Curry) combined for 19 of the Warriors’ first 21 points. The score was 39-17 for the away team after the first 12 minutes of the game. Utah responded quickly with a 14-2 run to open the second quarter as they cut the lead down to 10 points (41-31).
Utah’s 35 second-quarter points matched a 2017 postseason high for one quarter. At halftime it was 60-52 for the Warriors. Midway through the third period it looked like it was going to be a close game to the very end with Golden State leading 73-66. They would pull away as they closed the third period on a 7-0 run and held a 93-79 lead heading into the fourth quarter. They outscored the Jazz 28-16 in the final period and ended up winning the game 121-95.
Golden State had a big rebounding advantage in this one (50-42) and they held Utah to just 37 percent shooting from the field. The Warriors connected on 11 of their 26 three-point attempts and finished the game with 28 assists.
Draymond Green with a triple-double
On a night when five players scored at least 12 points for Golden State, Draymond Green posted his third career postseason triple-double. Green finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Stephen Curry led all scorers with 30 points and also added seven assists. Klay Thompson contributed with 21 points while Kevin Durant added 18 points and five assists.
Gordon Hayward was the leading scorer for Utah in their last game of this season. He scored 25 points and pulled down five rebounds. Shelvin Mack started in place of injured George Hill and finished the game with 18 points and five rebounds while Rudy Gobert added 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Golden State won the series 4-0 and they advance to the Western Conference Finals. In the Conference Finals they will face the winner of the Spurs vs. Rockets series that is tied at 2-2.