This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Oakland, Calif. • Gordon Hayward drove into the lane, pulled up and fired from the just inside the free throw line.
For the past two weeks (on days he hadn't been sidelined by food poisoning), the Utah Jazz's All-Star forward had been a consistent threat and steadying force for his team in the playoffs.
On Tuesday night, that first jump shot drew only iron, a harbinger of things to come.
It would be a long night for Hayward.
It would be a long night for the Jazz.
In a 106-94 defeat at Oracle Arena, Hayward finished with just 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
"I didn't feel like Gordon was hesitant to shoot," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "They did a good job trying to limit his looks. But the couple clean ones he got, he's been making those, and I would anticipate him making those."
The Warriors were the NBA's second-ranked defense during the regular season and they looked every bit of it in the opening game of this second-round playoff series.
But Hayward's struggles extended beyond that. The forward connected on two of his five contested looks, according to the NBA's player tracking data. Hayward, meanwhile, went 2 for 10 on uncontested shots.
"He had a couple looks probably that he missed," Warriors coach Mike Brown said. "But give our guys credit, they followed the game plan. … [O]ur whole emphasis, especially on Gordon, was to just keep a body in front of them and make them try to shoot tough shots."
Hayward went 2 for 5 on contested looks.
"He's an All-Star," Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. "So you're going to expect him to come back next game very aggressive. He missed some shots tonight. We did a good job of putting bodies on him, making him shoot over a contest. But he's a good player, some of those shots might go in next game."
Twitter: @aaronfalk