This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Oakland • In truth, the Jazz didn't play that badly on Wednesday night.
They kept the pace of play to their liking, never letting Golden State dominate in transition and milking their own possessions for all they were worth. They defended Stephen Curry as well as reasonably can be expected. Yes, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player hit some trademark 3-pointers, including a halfcourt shot to end the first half, but he didn't take over the game. The Jazz stayed within touching distance through three quarters, using timely shots to give themselves a chance.
But these are the Warriors, the defending NBA champions. And the Jazz, on the second night of a back-to-back, and without Rodney Hood, didn't have enough bodies or scoring to make this a game.
As such, Golden State's 115-94 win over the Jazz at Oracle Arena was entirely predictable. Despite all the good Utah did in an attempt to make it competitive, the Warriors had too many answers to let that happen.
"I think for the most part [the game] got away from us early in the third," Jazz forward Gordon Hayward said. "Truthfully, the end of the first half was a huge momentum swing."
Over its two-season domination of the rest of the league, Golden State has found different ways to foil its opponents. Against the Jazz, Golden State stars Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were good. But they weren't other-worldly like they've been so many times.
Instead, Golden State used its bench, one of the best in the NBA, to impose its will on Utah. Marreese Speights scored 16 points in 10 minutes and buried the Jazz under an avalanche of jumpers. Leandro Barbosa scored 13 points, getting to the rim at will and causing havoc in transition.
It was too much for Utah to handle. Without Hood to provide spacing, the Warriors swarmed Hayward defensively, forcing him into help defense and tough shots all night. He went 5 of 15 from the field and scored 16 points. The same could be said for power forward Derrick Favors, who went 5 of 12 shooting, scoring 11 points.
Trey Burke was the only Utah player with sustained offensive success, leading the Jazz with 18 points on 4 of 10 shooting. He was able to find his way to the free-throw line consistently, and that helped the Jazz when the game was close.
The key run occurred before the half. With the Jazz within 46-41, Golden State hit two 3-pointers, the last being Curry's buzzer-beater, to take a 52-41 lead at halftime. Curry's shot proved to be a killer, as the Jazz were never able to recover.
"That kind of discouraged us, obviously," Burke said. "We would've been down five. Momentum shifted, and obviously we know he is capable of hitting that shot. They're such a good team at home. You have to find a way to match their energy on both ends of the court."
Utah is now 29-35 on the season. The Jazz have lost seven of their past eight games, and are teetering on the edge of falling out of the playoff race. With the Houston Rockets defeating the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, the Jazz are three games out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot with 18 games remaining in the season.
It says something about the incredible depth the Warriors possess that the Jazz held Curry to a season-low 12 points, and were still easily handled. It's the kind of depth Utah wishes it had, but doesn't with Hood out and Alec Burks still on the mend.
The Jazz had a rough shooting night, going 39.7 percent from the field. They did shoot pretty well from 3-point range, finishing 8 of 19. But on a night the effort would've been good enough for a close game down the stretch against most teams, it wasn't nearly enough to put a scare into a Golden State team that improved to 57-6 on the season.
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Storylines
R Utah loses for the seventh time in eight games and falls three games behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth playoff spot.
• Trey Burke comes off the bench and leads the Jazz with 18 points.
• Utah falls to 29-35 on the season.