Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors hosted the top-seeded Utah Jazz for their final regular-season matchup Monday night. Curry had been scoring 37 points per game while shooting 47 percent from three over the previous 21 outings. Additionally, with Utah as a potential first-round opponent, the Warriors were looking to send a message.
Dubs come to play
The first half was a hard-fought battle between the teams. However, the Warriors took a 5-point lead into halftime.
Things remained tight early in the third, but the Warriors slowly began snatching control. Midway through, they saw their first double-digit lead over Utah. With momentum fully on their side, Jordan Poole channeled his inner Curry and banked in a half-court buzzer-beater to put the Dubs up 89-75 at the end of the third.
Utah mounts comeback
In the fourth, the Warriors went up by as much as 18 points. However, Utah is the highest fourth quarter scoring team in the League, and they lived up to that reputation. With just over a minute and a half to play, the Jazz had stormed all the way back to take a 113-112 lead. Although the Warriors answered, Jordan Clarkson responded right back with a triple that put Utah up 2 with 1:11 remaining.
Curry shot just 1 for 5 from 3-point range in the first half and ended, making a total 3 of 13. Nonetheless, he made the one that mattered most. After Curry missed a long ball for the lead, Kevon Looney tracked down the offensive rebound and kicked it back out. The world’s best shooter capitalized on the extra opportunity, cashing the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds left.
Utah was unable to answer, and the Warriors (36-33) held on for a 119-116 win over the Jazz (50-19).
Curry finished with 36 points despite the off night from beyond the arc. Poole scored 20 points off the bench, and Kent Bazemore added 19. Plus, Looney made an impact by grabbing 13 rebounds – the first time in his career that he snatched double-digit boards in three straight games.
“The difference is tonight Steph had three guys on him all night,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said about Curry’s shooting.
Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to put up 41 points and 7 rebounds for a Utah team still missing All-Star guards Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley. Bojan Bogdanovic added 27 points and 6 boards.
Up Next
Utah hosts Portland Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PST in Utah’s final regular-season home game. The Warriors host Phoenix Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. PST to cap off their final back-to-back.
