Warriors guard Monta Ellis finished with two points. Sunday
against the Utah Jazz, he took nine shots. He made one, a runner in
the lane in the second half. Normally, that would mean a loss for
the Warriors. Instead, they won going away 96-81.
OAKLAND
Warriors guard Monta Ellis finished with two points.
Sunday against the Utah Jazz, he took nine shots. He made one, a runner in the lane in the second half. Normally, that would mean a loss for the Warriors.
Instead, they won going away 96-81.
Much of the credit for the win over the Jazz, which snapped the Warriors’ four-game losing streak, could be attributed to three factors. No. 1, Utah was without its best player, point guard Deron Williams. Secondly, while the Warriors got little from Ellis, point guard Stephen Curry picked up the slack, totaling 27 points.
And the third factor — it’s a doozy — was center Andris Biedrins neutralizing Utah’s expected advantage inside.
Jazz big man Al Jefferson did have 16 points and 14 rebounds, but he was 6 for 18 from the field, and his production was offset by Biedrins, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
It was Biedrins’ second straight game reaching double digits in points and rebounds. Biedrins hadn’t recorded back-to-back double-doubles since January 2009.
The Warriors (20-27) enter their three days off with something to feel good about, having lost their previous three home games. Swingman Reggie Williams had 15 points off the bench and made all six of his shots. Forward Dorell Wright had 16 points and four rebounds.
Utah had a hard time scoring without Williams. The Jazz shot 37.2 percent from the field and managed just 36 second-half points.
Golden State didn’t have such problems on offense, thanks largely to Curry. He was 10 for 18 from the field and totaled seven assists and six rebounds.
Riding the back of Curry, the Warriors pushed their lead to 10 points midway through the third quarter. He capped a 7-0 Warriors run with a layup and a pull-up 3-pointer, giving the Warriors a 62-52 advantage inside of six minutes left. Utah cut the Warriors’ lead down to three, but Golden State made a push at the end of the quarter.
A tip-in by Utah guard Raja Bell made it 64-61 Warriors. But Curry capped another Warriors run. His bank shot and a pair of free throws ended a 7-0 spurt that sent the Warriors into the fourth quarter ahead 71-61.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors pushed that lead to 15, after the second of back-to-back 3-pointers by Williams gave the Warriors an 81-66 advantage with nine minutes left in the game.
The Warriors pulled ahead of Utah with a late first-quarter run. Wright broke a 20-20 tie with a 3-pointer at the 1:52 mark. After a stop, rookie big man Ekpe Udoh dropped in a fadeaway jumper. After one more stop, Wright capped an 8-0 run with another 3-pointer.
Golden State led 31-25 at the end of the first quarter. That lead got as large as 14 midway through the second quarter. Oddly enough, the Warriors took their largest lead of the game with the starting backcourt on the bench.
Williams knocked down a corner 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 41-29 advantage. About a minute later, guard Acie Law fed Wright for a fast-break dunk. After a pair of free throws by Jazz forward Paul Millsap, Williams dropped in a fadeaway to put the Warriors ahead 45-31 with 5:30 left in the first half.
But by the halftime horn, Utah had shaved 10 points off that lead. The Warriors went 1 for 7 with two turnovers the rest of the quarter. Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko capped a 14-4 run by closing the quarter with a 3-pointer and a put-back in the final seconds. Golden State led 49-45.
— Story by Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times
