Warriors eke out a tense win despite another fourth-quarter collapse
The Dubs beat the Jazz 140-137 in the last game before the All-Star break.
The Golden State Warriors entered their final game of the season’s first half in a slightly precarious situation. After losing a heartbreaking and debilitating game to the LA Clippers the night before, the Dubs hopped on a flight to Salt Lake City for a recently-scheduled makeup game. Accounting for the travel and the time difference, the Warriors didn’t get into Utah until 4:00 a.m. local time.
And they desperately needed a win to enter the week-long All-Star break on a high note, and with a winning record. Before the game even started, the Warriors made a little bit of noise, as Klay Thompson was moved to the bench for the first time since his rookie season, with Brandin Podziemski replacing him in the starting five.
Things started somewhat ominously, as the Warriors were once again plagued by first-quarter sloppiness. This time it wasn’t turnovers so much as fouls and giving up offensive rebounds. But unlike in past games, the sloppiness seemed less due to playing lackadaisically, and more due to being tense. They were overly-aggressive and frenetic, and clearly in need of a win. Utah was also playing frenetically, and it seemed to be working in their favor. They rattled off a 13-3 run, and led 22-13 halfway through the quarter. It was clear that we were in for a high-scoring affair.
The Dubs rallied back thanks to a dynamic first quarter from Andrew Wiggins, who dropped in 11 points on perfect shooting. The sloppiness returned, and it again favored the younger, fresher Utah team. But the Dubs closed things on a run, after Thompson came off the bench to catch fire, netting 10 points in the quarter. Utah had shot what felt like an unsustainable 7-for-12 from deep, but they led just 39-36.
Golden State needed just one possession in the second quarter to tie things up, thanks to a Podziemski three. From there, a unique bench unit — with some strong playmaking by Podz and Dario Šarić — started to take control. A 23-8 run spanned the first two quarters, and suddenly the Warriors were looking at a 13-point lead.
Utah wasn’t going anywhere, however. They kept pushing back, but Thompson and Draymond Green would return the favor. The half ended with a wild sequence in which Klay led a perfect two-on-one for a two-for-one layup, before the Dubs ceded rookie Keyontae George’s sixth three of the night, only for fellow rookie Podziemski to answer with a three of his own to send Golden State into the half with a 13-point lead.
After Utah had made just 11 threes during Monday’s matchup, they had made 14 on a mere 28 attempts in the first half alone.
The third quarter brought the emergence of Jonathan Kuminga, who dominated out of the gates, scoring six of the team’s first eight points and assisting on the other two. The Warriors repeatedly kept looking like they would run away with the game, but the Jazz — led by George and Collin Sexton — answered and answered and answered. Again Thompson came in from the bench with fire on his fingers, dropping in a stunning 18 points in the third quarter alone. It led to a late quarter flurry, and a 120-102 lead going into the final frame.
Even with the recent meltdowns, that seemed like a big enough lead. But my goodness it barely was. The Jazz grabbed all the momentum as soon as the quarter began, and a Lauri Markkanen three cut the Warriors lead to 10 points just 2:20 into the frame, prompting a Warriors timeout. The teams went back and forth, with the Jazz repeatedly making it a single-digit game, only for Steph Curry, Gary Payton II, and others to answer.
Utah’s perseverance and energy led a mighty comeback, but the Warriors repeatedly hurt themselves unnecessarily. Payton had a very bad foul on a three-point attempt and, a few minutes later, with the Dubs nursing an eight-point lead with just three minutes left, Kuminga blew a five-on-three with an inexplicable turnover, which led to another Markkanen three. After an empty possession, Sexton grabbed an offensive rebound — Utah had 16 — and laid the ball in to make it a three-point game. Another empty possession followed by Sexton splitting a pair of free throws — he got to the line 13 times — made it a two-point game.
It seemed the Dubs would be fine though. George fouled Curry 30 feet from the hoop on the next Warriors possession, and while Steph made just one free throw, George traveled on the next possession, courtesy of some great Thompson defense.
But alas. The Warriors again failed to score, and Markkanen got a good look at a game-tying three with 45 seconds left. He missed it, but John Collins grabbed one of his 13 rebounds and laid the ball in for a one-point game.
Golden State had a two-for-one but I probably don’t need to tell you that they bungled it. A few careless passes very narrowly avoided being turned over, and they didn’t get a shot off in time to keep it a two-for-one situation. When they finally did get a frantic shot off, it was a Thompson miss. With all of us ready to give up on the sport forever, Utah had a chance to win the game.
But the Dubs kept the Jazz from a clean shot. Markkanen got off a three-point attempt in the corner, but didn’t have time to bring the ball down to fully load it. Collins grabbed his fourth offensive rebound of the game, but was immediately swarmed by Dubs defenders, and promptly threw the ball five rows deep into the stands.
A pair of Curry free throws made it a 140-137 game with 2.4 seconds remaining and Sexton — who had 35 points on the night — missed a game-tying three at the buzzer.
You can exhale now.
A win is a win, and while this one certainly comes with a caveat, I think we can all agree that had they fully blown it we’d be feeling a lot different. As it is, they enter the All-Star break with a winning record, and with eight wins in their last 10 games.
It was also a game of notable accomplishments. Steve Kerr notched his 500th win, while Thompson passed the 15,000 points mark for his career, an achievement that made him visibly emotional when informed of it during the halftime broadcast.
Despite being benched, Klay was the biggest star for the Warriors, notching a blistering 35 points in 28 minutes, while playing strong defense. Curry had a quiet game, with just 16 points on 14 shots, but dished out 10 assists, while Draymond Green finished with a stellar line of 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, four steals, and two blocks. Wiggins, Kuminga, and Podziemski also notched double figures.
The Dubs now get some much-needed time off. Curry and Podziemski will head to Indianapolis for the All-Star festivities, and the team will reconvene in a week to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. They’re firmly in play-in position, but with how much potential they’ve been showing lately — and Chris Paul’s return right around the corner — they’ve got their sights set higher.