Warriors guard sends clear on-court message after All-Star snub

After such an impressive first year that resulted in All-Rookie First Team honors, Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski was a surprise omission from the list of players that will compete in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend next month.

Yet the young guard quickly turned that disappointment into motivation, leading his team with an arguably season-best performance in the Warriors 114-103 win over the Utah Jazz at Chase Center on Tuesday night.

Brandin Podziemski continued his good form against the Jazz

Playing without stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, Golden State made a slow start and went down double digits in the opening period. Their bench led a major turnaround over the remainder of the first-half, led by Podziemski who had three triples on his way to 11 points, three rebounds and five assists as the Warriors took an 11-point half-time lead.

But without a host of key starters and rotational players themselves, the Jazz wouldn't go away as they rose anxiety levels in Chase Center by pulling back to within one point with six minutes remaining in the fourth-quarter.

Podziemski hit a fourth and crucial three as part of an 11-2 Golden State, helping to ease concerns of another disastrous loss as the hosts eventually prevailed 114-103 in a game that will hardly live in the memory bank.

Having just returned from an extended absence due to an abdominal injury, Podziemski continued his good form to record 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists while finishing as a +19 in over 32 minutes off the bench.

Dennis Schroder shook off a worrisome ankle injury in the third-quarter to record his best scoring performance as a Warrior, finishing with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals as he took the primary point guard duties with Curry on the sidelines.

Andrew Wiggins had 19 points and was a +12 in over 33 minutes, while Moses Moody took advantage of a rare starting opportunuty with 15 points on 3-of-6 3-point shooting.

Trayce Jackson-Davis was limited to just six minutes of action thanks to excellent bench production from Kevon Looney, with the veteran center tallying 11 rebounds (five offensive) and finishing as a +23 in 24 minutes. Rookie big man Quinten Post saw 16 minutes of playing time, hitting two threes and recording 10 points to go with five rebounds.

Curry is expected to play in Wednesday's second night of a back-to-back against the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, with improvement required after shooting just 39.1% from the field against the Jazz.