NBA News Wire
Warriors 116, Jazz 105
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SALT LAKE CITY — Steph Curry scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors used a huge third quarter to defeat the Utah Jazz 116-105 Tuesday at EnergySolutions Arena.
Curry hit 10 of 16 shots and dished out a game-high 11 assists to help the Warriors (30-5) become the third NBA team to hit the 30-win mark.
This game was tied 53-53 at halftime, but the Warriors quickly turned it into a rout in the third quarter. Golden State used a 44-point explosion in that period to take a 97-80 lead into the fourth quarter.
Curry led the Warriors’ outburst with 15 points and hit two of the team’s eight 3-pointers in the third.
Golden State finished hitting 13 of 25 from deep, including Curry’s 4-9 outing, compared to a 7-for-21 night for the Jazz.
Center Derrick Favors led Utah (13-26) with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
All five Jazz starters scored in double figures, including power forward Enes Kanter, who returned to the first unit after missing four games with a sprained ankle and then playing off the bench Saturday.
Backup center Rudy Gobert was the only Jazz sub to hit in double figures with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Utah’s bench was thin with the absence of sixth man Trevor Booker (stomach flu) and rookie guard/forward Rodney Hood (foot).
Six Warriors finished with double figures in scoring, including 15 points from Draymond Green. The small forward was one of four Golden State players with multiple threes, finishing 3 of 4 beyond the arc.
This was Golden State’s first road win since a 128-122 overtime victory at New Orleans on Dec. 14. The Warriors, who won all six games of a recent homestead, had lost three straight away from Oracle Arena.
The Jazz dropped to 6-12 at home. The team, which usually enjoys a huge home-court advantage, has the same winning percentage on the road (7-14).
The Warriors shot 61.5 percent in that explosive third quarter and dished out 10 of their 32 assists.
NOTES: In his pregame interview, Golden State coach Steve Kerr shared a memory of when his Chicago Bulls played in Utah during the 1998 NBA Finals. “I remember leaving on the team bus one game, and a throng of Jazz fans pushing our bus on both sides,” Kerr said. “It reminded me of that (Kevin Garnett) Beats commercial, where people look like they’re ready to take them apart.”… Warriors C Marreese Speights was asked about the incident in which he had a gun pulled on him outside a San Francisco nightclub on Jan. 5. “As long as I’m living right now, that’s all that matters,” Speights told the San Francisco Chronicle. … Jazz SG Joe Ingles, one of the team’s more talkative players, was asked if he does much trash-talking. The 27-year-old rookie said he doesn’t, adding, “When I score 50, I’ll say something, which will be never.”
