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The sore toe that kept George Hill out of Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors improved "marginally," Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.

But a marginal improvement by Saturday night wasn't nearly enough for the Jazz to throw their starting point guard at Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and company. As a result, Hill — who has battled the sore toe for most of the season — missed Saturday night's Game 3 at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Without their floor leader, the Jazz once again struggled to score. They didn't shoot well in the first half of Game 3, going 45 percent from the field and making just 3 of 10 from 3-point range.

Much of that can be traced to Hill's absence for a second consecutive game. In many ways, the Jazz resembled a sailboat without a rudder.

"It is really just a question of his effectiveness and his toe," Snyder said. "He's missed games for this over the course of season. What happens as he is playing, there are situations in the game that happens when he lands on it, or he pushes off and he aggravates it."

Hill tried to play. He arrived at the arena early to get shots up. He went through a full workout, but the toe didn't respond well enough. In his stead, Shelvin Mack was placed in the starting lineup for a second straight game, and he played well.

Mack played 18 first-half minutes and scored eight points. He handed out four assists and shot 2 of 5 from the field. He also challenged the Warriors defense off the dribble and consistently got into the paint.

That paid dividends later in the first half, as the Jazz took their first lead of the series, 48-47, just before halftime. Mack wasn't hesitant. He wasn't perfect, turning the ball over multiple times. But he was a factor, and that's what the Jazz needed.

"I saw some things in the first game that I could carry over to Game 3," Mack said before the game.

Switch it up

Snyder put veteran Boris Diaw into the starting lineup at power forward for the first time in the series, and he played his best half of the series, scoring eight points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Diaw played 14 minutes in Saturday's first half, to Joe Johnson's nine minutes. He was aggressive against Golden State power forward Draymond Green, forcing Green to guard in the post.

Johnson scored five points and grabbed four rebounds in the first half of Game 3.

Horrid start, hot finish

The Jazz shot 6 of 21 from the field in the first quarter, but 12 of 19 in the second quarter. The difference? Utah found its way into the paint with more frequency in the second quarter. The Jazz forced the ball into Rudy Gobert and the strategy worked. Mack and Gordon Hayward were also aggressive off the dribble.

tjones@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribjazz