© Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors have built a dynasty on the ability outscore their opponent from deep, but were handed a heavy dose of their own medicine Monday night from the Utah Jazz who hit 14 three-pointers on their way to a 129-99 victory.
The Jazz finished the night plus-27 from beyond the arc. The Warriors only managed five long-balls in the entire contest. For context, Stephen Curry entered the came with a five game streak of five or more made threes by himself.
That streak did not make it to Wednesday morning.
Utah forward Joe Ingles had a career night against the Warriors, only missing two of his eight attempted three-pointers. He finished with 20 points, and along with 23 from point guard Ricky Rubio and 20 from rookie Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz put together a wire-to-wire win.
The Warriors front court started the day with their hands full, staring down a matchup with Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, two of the league’s best traditional bigs. The task got no easier when both Jordan Bell (inflammation in his left ankle) and Kevon Looney (illness) were ruled out of the contest.
That meant more minutes for JaVale McGee, who played incredibly well in the contest. After only playing six minutes over the team’s last eight games, McGee finished almost perfect from the field – knocking down seven of his eight attempts on his way to 14 points.
Steph and JaVale connect for the alley-oop ? pic.twitter.com/myy8FPVXaY
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 31, 2018
But there was little McGee and the Warriors could do against the red-hot shooting of the Jazz. Ingle repeatedly found himself wide open beyond the arc, and helped Utah to a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter after burying all three of his long-range attempts.
Ricky Rubio has historically played well defending Stephen Curry, and Tuesday his aggressiveness bothered the two-time MVP. Curry went 1-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Golden State as a whole only hit 3-of-13 from deep in the first half, good for 16.7%. On the other side of the ball, the Jazz caught lightning in a bottle. Utah finished the half 9-for-17 from deep, as well as shooting 62% from the floor, and built themselves a comfortable 13-point halftime lead.
All year the third quarter has been the saving grace for the Warriors in games where the defending champs have a lackluster first half. Time and time again, Golden State has come out of the locker room with rejuvenated energy, thrown together a signature 12-0, 15-2 type run and taken control of the game.
No such luck on Tuesday.
Utah continued to shoot the lights out of the building, and outscored the visitors by five in the third period. Klay Thompson was really the only All-Star that got going for the Dubs, and finished with 27 points on the night. Durant finished with 17, Curry with 14, and Green ended with eight points and six boards.
Steve Kerr realized a second-half comeback seemed unlikely, and sat his starters for most of the 4th quarter. The Jazz kept their foot on the gas for the entire contest, and were rewarded with a 30-point win against the defending champs.
Golden State returns to the Golden State for the second game of their mini three-game road trip to face the Sacramento Kings on Friday, before heading to Denver to round out the trip. Last time the two teams met, Sacramento played an inspired game at Oracle and beat the Warriors 110-106.