Solid Defense Leads Golden State Warriors Past Utah for 27th Win
118. 103. 41. Final. 85
After four days off, the Golden State Warriors returned to action against the Utah Jazz, cruising to a 103-85 victory for their 27th win of the season.
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After a poor defensive effort against the Milwaukee Bucks last Friday, the Warriors managed to keep the Jazz in check. Once again, the Warriors were without Harrison Barnes and for Utah, Rudy Gobert was out. The Dubs limited the visiting Jazz to just 13 first quarter points, taking a 10 point lead after the opening period, putting up 23 points of their own.
The Warriors started the second quarter with their bench unit. And with Marreese Speights struggling off the bench, interim head coach Luke Walton turned to James Michael McAdoo. The Warriors struggled to score until the big three of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson returned. The Warriors ended up losing the period 25-24, going into the half leading by just 9.
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The Warriors first half defense was on the opposite end of the spectrum of last Friday’s matchup against the Bucks. The Warriors only allowed 38 points compared to 70 last time out. The Warriors’ defense was much tighter, blocking 6 shots and coming away with 5 steals.
Despite Curry’s continued struggles shooting the ball, the Warriors managed to increase their lead. Though they couldn’t consistently put a run together, Golden State was able to run the ball a little bit, putting together some exciting plays that got the home crowd into it. The highlight of the game came off a Curry-Andrew Bogut pick-and-roll where the MVP threw a no-look alley-oop to the Aussie big man. The Warriors won the quarter 26-20.
Walton chose not to go with a full bench unit in the fourth for long, bringing in Thompson to play with the reserves early on. The Warriors were able to keep the lead at double-digits for the most part behind the strong play of their defense. With the lead at 11 with 4:34, the Jazz chose to foul Bogut intentionally, who hit both of his free throws. The Warriors executed on both ends for the rest of the quarter and the lead ballooned to over 20.
It was a balanced effort for the Warriors. Thompson led all scorers with just 20 points. Curry struggled to shoot, managing just 16 points on 5-14 shooting (2-8 from deep).
Tale of the Tape
Warriors
- Field-goal percentage: 47% (39-83)
- Three-point percentage: 40.9% (9-22)
- Rebounds: 40
- Assists: 26
- Turnovers: 15
Jazz
- Field-goal percentage: 41.2% (33-80)
- Three-point percentage: 35% (7-20)
- Rebounds: 40
- Assists: 14
- Turnovers: 19
Good to Know
Klay Thompson has his 11th 20-point game of the season, scoring 20+ in eight of his last nine games
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) December 24, 2015
What’s on Tap
The Warriors will host Matthew Dellavedova and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas.