Stephen Curry stars as Warriors thrash Utah Jazz 96-81
There haven’t been many upsides to Utah Jazz recently.
After nipping a six game wretched losing streak against Minnesota Timberwolves in their last outing, the Jazz failed to capitalize on their momentum against the struggling Golden State Warriors.
The highlight of the night was the dazzling Warriors guard, Stephen Curry. The second year pro pulled off one of his most outstanding performances this season, scoring 27 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals as he propelled the Warriors to their first
win in an eight match home-stand.
Curry though, was not the only one in the groove on the night. Reggie Williams chipped in with a perfect shooting night going 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from downtown to fetch 15 points while Andris Biedrins notched up a double-double with 11 points
and 10 boards. David Lee had 14 points and 5 assists.
The disappointment of the night though was Monta Ellis. The prolific sharp-shooter, who is fourth in the league with 25.7 points per game, failed to break his poor shooting jinx against the Jazz as he managed only 2 points on a 1-of-9 shooting.
The match started at a furious pace with both teams going on an all-out offense. Utah gave no indications of Deron Williams’ absence and they kept pace with a red hot Warriors offense for most of the first 10 minutes.
The upbeat offensive style of play of the Warriors though, proved a little too hot to handle for the Jazz as the home team rattled an 18-7 bridging the first and the second quarter to pull away.
Utah, however, showed some resilience and rallied back with some fast breaks as the teams headed for the locker room with the match nicely poised at 49-45, advantage Warriors.
The Jazz continued from where they left off in the first half. Andrei Kirilenko and Al Jefferson got it going early in the frame and some consistent pressure from the duo ensured that the Jazz inched in on a 3-point cushion five times in the first nine minutes
of the third quarter.
But, that was the closest Jazz got to the Warriors. With 2:13 left in the third, David Lee slipped a jumping hook shot to kick start a vicious 22-6 surge, that lasted till the midpoint of the fourth quarter as the Warriors raced to an 88-69 lead.
The home team never looked back after that as they breezed to a 96-81 knockout win.
The Jazz were again plagued by an all too familiar shooting trouble in the night. Four of their starters got into double figures but they combined for a 22-of-54 shooting as the visitors finished at a paltry 37.2 percent.
Al Jefferson led the charge with 16 points and 14 rebounds but the men from Salt Lake City lacked the killer instinct as they slipped to their fifth straight away defeat.
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