NBA Playoffs: Golden State Warriors Defeat Utah Jazz In Sloppy Game 3
The Golden State Warriors headed into Game 3 with a 2-0 lead on the Utah Jazz. The game was off to a slow start until the Warriors scored almost two minutes into the game on a Steph Curry cut to the basket for an easy layup. The Warriors also racked up some fouls early on with Green, Pachulia, and Thompson all having a foul before the halfway mark in the quarter. Shortly after the halfway point in the quarter, Green had a second foul called on him. The replay showed that Green hit the ball, and not Rudy Gobert, so he was understandably upset by the call. However, it still took him out of the game for the rest of the first quarter.
Neither team shot particularly well in the first quarter, but the Jazz fans stayed with the team despite the Warriors being 10 points ahead to end the quarter. The fans booed and cheered practically every play. They likely took offense to the fact that the Warriors reportedly complained about the lack of night life in Salt Lake City.
Draymond Green returned to start the second quarter and the Jazz claimed the first points with a Joe Johnson three. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was wired up during tonight’s game and said that he didn’t think the moment was too big for his team. Shortly after, the Warriors began to rack up some more fouls with two called on Igoudala and Clark in the same possession. The Warriors were not looking very Warrior-like in the first two quarters even though they mostly maintained a lead. They had silly turnovers, one being a backcourt violation, and they even had a delay of game called right after the backcourt violation. During the second quarter, ABC provided a graphic that showed the Warriors had lead for over 108 minutes, Utah lead for 0, and the game was tied for 3:44 for the entire series up to that point.
Utah had their faults, too. All around, it was a fairly sloppy first half of a game. However, they were able to keep it a fairly close game. Gobert came up with some nice defensive plays for the Jazz. Not to mention, Green gave them a free point when he kept complaining from the bench and had a technical called on him after receiving his third foul. It wasn’t until almost the end of the second quarter when the Jazz obtained their first lead of the series. The quarter ended with the Jazz up one, 50-49.
The Jazz came out strong in the third quarter, causing the Warriors to take a quick time out to slow them down. They didn’t slow them down much in the third, but they kept the game close enough to not be too worried about it. Curry struggled with shooting, but with around three minutes left in the third, he brought the team within one point of the Jazz. Then, with 1:32 left in the quarter, Favors fouled Curry as he chucked up a shot. It resulted in the ball getting stuck up by the shot clock and two easy points for Curry to tie the game at 70. The Warriors regained the lead on a lob from Green to Igoudala and the quarter ended with them up 72-70.
The Jazz continued the good defense in the fourth. Early in the quarter, Ingles blocked a three from Thompson. The Warriors had some momentum go their way and with just over five minutes left, they went up by 5. Things remained pretty sloppy for the entire game. The Warriors hit back to back threes (one from Curry and one from Durant) to increase the lead to 8 with about three minutes left.
The Warriors built up a 12-point lead in the fourth and were able to hold on and win the game 102-91. Despite winning by double digits, it was a rough game to watch. Kevin Durant, however, had a great game for the team and finished with 38 points and 13 rebounds. The teams play Game 4 On Monday, May 8, at 6 p.m. PST.
[Featured Image by Gene Sweeny Jr./Getty Images]
