by Kimya Oliver
The Utah Jazz defeated the Golden State Warriors 111-85.
The Crossover: Utah Jazz by the Numbers
The Jazz struggled early by allowing the Warriors to open the first quarter on a 13-0 run. With a dish from Mike Conley, Udoka Azubuike for the slam dunk to get the offense started.
The Jazz began to gain offensive momentum. Trent Forrest came up with the steal and drove to the basket, but lost the ball. Donovan Mitchell was there to grab the loose ball for a pass to Bojan Bogdanovic for the three-pointer. That cut the Warriors’ lead to 18-15.
Jordan Clarkson missed, but cleaned up his mess with the putback tip layup to end the first quarter. The Jazz trailed 31-30 at the end of the first quarter.
Forrest gave Eric Paschall a quick pass to make the cutting layup to get the second quarter started.
This game was back and forth. The Jazz would pull up from beyond the arc and the Warriors would answer by hitting a three-pointer.
Mitchell made a skip pass to Bogdanovic for the three-pointer. Bogdanovic hit another turnaround fade-away three-pointer to help the Jazz gain a 43-36 lead.
With 56 seconds left, Mitchell grabbed the defensive rebound and headed down the court. Hassan Whiteside gave Mitchell the screen for a pick-and-pop situation to make the floating jump shot. The first half ended with the Jazz leading 55-49.
Warrior Kevon Looney went up for the dunk, but Mitchell was there for the block to start a he third quarter.
The Jazz struggled early to find offensive momentum going scoreless in the first three minutes of the second half, allowing the Warriors to open on an 8-0 run.
The Jazz finally hit a shot when Royce O’Neale found Conley in the corner open for three.
Mitchell hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to give the Jazz an eight-point lead.
With 17 seconds left, Conley gave Bogdanovic the ball on the wing to drive to the basket for the floater while being fouled. Bogdanović made the following free throw as well.
The third quarter ended with the Jazz leading 79-65.
Traveling: Jazz continue winning ways at Home
Conley opened the fourth quarter hitting a stepback three-pointer. The Jazz extended their lead 92-69 with eight minutes to play.
The Jazz continued to hit shots from beyond the arc for the remainder of the game.
The Daily Double-Double
Bogdanovic led the Jazz with 23 points and Mitchell finished with a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mitchell was just two assists shy of a triple double. Rudy Gobert did not play due to a calf injury.
Bounce Pass: Up Next
The Jazz will be facing the Orlando Magic on February 11 at 7:00 p.m. MST.
Featured image courtesy Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News