The Golden State Warriors used a huge night from Stephen Curry to take care of the Utah Jazz in quick order at home.
After getting a little bit of rest, the Golden State Warriors were firing on all cylinders against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. With these two having played several close contests over recent seasons, it finally feels like the Warriors are figuring out what do against Utah to make the games easier.
The Jazz fell behind big in their first meeting but were able to make it a game. That was not the case tonight as the Warriors rolled behind a huge night from Stephen Curry and their stout defense.
From the first quarter on, the Warriors set the tone defensively and aimed the Jazz to make some bad turnovers. Utah would score just 15 points in the first quarter and they had trouble holding onto the basketball. They would finish with 23 turnovers. Although it was only 19-15, the Warriors were locked in and it was as if the tide would turn as soon as they found their shot.
In the second quarter, Curry began dishing out some big passes for the Warriors. As he paced the team in scoring, Curry tried his best to set his teammates up with looks en route to a 36-18 quarter for Golden State.
This thing turned into yet another Curry game and the Jazz quickly were outmatched and just didn’t have the offense to turn this thing into a game on the road. Curry would finish with 25 points. Rodney Hood would be shut out and held scoreless in just 11 minutes for Utah. Hood would not play in the second half as he dealt with stomach issues.
Gordon Hayward would only score six and it felt as if Rudy Gobert was the only starter that could manage anything. Although he only had 11 points, he finished with 16 points. This thing was over by the third quarter and the Warriors’ defense flexed their muscles yet again en route to a 104-74 victory.
The defense is only giving up 84.6 points per game over their last three games and they’re right where they need to be at before going on this road trip. They will now have three against the Nets, Pistons and the big Christmas game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.