VIVINT SMART HOME ARENA, SALT LAKE CITY, UT — One night after defeating the Clippers in LA, the Golden State Warriors (19-3) were in Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz (14-10).
The Warriors were without Shaun Livingston (rest) and James McAdoo (inactive), having recalled rookie Damian Jones from the D-League.
The depleted Jazz were without a whole host of players, including Gordon Hayward (finger), George Hill (sprained toe), Rodney Hood (hamstring), and Derrick Favors (knee).
Q1: Dominance
Shelvin Mack and Joe Johnson got the Jazz off to a 4-0 start as Draymond Green and Klay Thompson missed threes, then Zaza Pachulia threw a bad lead pass to Stephen Curry, but the Warriors went on a 14-0 run.
Thompson hit a jumper, Pachulia tapped out a missed corner three by Thompson for a Curry splash, Kevin Durant pulled up over Johnson in transition after Green stripped the ball from Boris Diaw, Steph hit a right wing triple assisted by Durant, and KD blocked Mack, allowing Draymond to throw a touchdown pass to Klay for a layup:
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With 8:03 remaining, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder took a timeout with Golden State leading, 12-4.
Out of the timeout, Curry got a steal and Thompson hit a jumper off one foot, catching the ball at the free throw line.
Later, Steph hit a long two from the left arc with Dante Exum fouling him after the shot:
Count it! pic.twitter.com/yOCoee8oao
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) December 9, 2016
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JaVale McGee checked in for Zaza and immediately contributed with a bucket at the rim fed by Draymond on the attack after Joe Ingles made a free throw. McGee missed the first shot but bullied his way for the put back.
Diaw then missed a long two and Durant rebounded, brought the ball up, and fed Green for a trailing triple.
Diaw lost the ball again on a spin in the post against Draymond, Klay picked up the loose ball, and went coast-to-coast to finish with a spin and a scoop.
Snyder called timeout again as the Warriors took a 24-5 lead with 5:07 to play.
Out of the timeout, Thompson faked a jumper and fed to McGee inside for another power move, as Jazz fans in the stands yelled, “Try!” in exasperation of their home team’s effort.
Mack then lost his dribble to Curry and Steph ended the sequence with a runner plus the harm, putting the Warriors up, 28-5:
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Oh my … #StephGonnaSteph on @CSNAuthentic. pic.twitter.com/8s9OWRYh3k
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) December 9, 2016
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But Ingles got hot, hitting a jumper, then Klay coughed the ball up to Ingles and Trey Lyles converted at the other end, prompting Golden State head coach Steve Kerr to call timeout with 2:54 to go with the Warriors still up, 29-9.
Out of the timeout, Ingles stayed hot, hitting two more threes, but David West broke the temporary dry spell with a pass to a cutting Kevon Looney for an easy bucket.
With 18 seconds left, West hit a jumper before the shot clock buzzer on very patient Warriors offense, but Jeff Withey answered with a put back of a missed layup by Exum as he was switched onto by Looney for the final possession.
Iguodala was late on a halfcourt heave and the Warriors took a 35-17 lead into the second stanza.
Q2: Curry Gets Harden-ish
Patrick McCaw came in and got a bucket at the rim, then Durant swatted Exum:
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KD also backdoored Mack, with the assist from David West, then Andre Iguodala, who had four dunks the previous night against the Lakers, continued the spring in his legs for an emphatic putback two-hand jam:
That bikram yoga is really paying off. (@CSNAuthentic) pic.twitter.com/vUWW2NT0wB
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) December 9, 2016
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With 8:36 remaining, Snyder called timeout with the Warriors leading, 43-20.
But the Jazz came back with four straight buckets and, after Durant forced a bounce pass to a cutting West, Mack hit a baseline jumper and Kerr called timeout, getting the starters back in.
McCaw and Green both hit threes, with Draymond getting his off extraordinary passing with Thompson being unselfish in passing up a three to work the ball around some more. Curry eventually drove in with the Jazz on their heels, basically toying with the Utah defense, and found Green for three more:
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Later, Curry drew a foul on Exum and Kerr gave Steph a high-five because it was a James Harden-esque coaxing of the whistle:
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Closing out the half, Mack and Johnson hit threes, but Draymond stayed en fuego, splashing his fourth triple of the half to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists, McCaw reached 10 points with 4 field goals without a miss, 2 of them threes, and Pachulia ended things with a bucket at the rim delivered by Green.
Curry led all scorers with 17 points as the Warriors took a 65-46 lead
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @geophri)
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