It’s beginning to turn into a running theme for the Golden State Warriors, wire-to-wire tight game against a favored opponent, but when it counts at the end, they cannot find a way to close.
The Warriors were without Draymond Green and Eric Paschall, while being a 13.5-point underdog in Utah, Golden State battled The Jazz into the final minutes. However, in the end, the talent of Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic willed the Jazz to a 114-106 win.
The game came down to three possessions, with a little over one minute left in the fourth quarter. Golden State was down two, and Willie Cauley-Stein missed a crucial dunk, that turned into an open three for Joe Inglis giving the Jazz a five-point cushion.
The following offensive trip for Golden State ended with Alec Burks stepping out of bounds, giving the Jazz the ball up-five, and only 60 seconds on the clock. The Jazz ended the game on an 11-two run to seal the 114-106 win. The Warriors have now lost 10 of their last 12.
The Marquese Chriss Show
After an impressive performance against the New York Knicks, Marquese Chriss parlayed his hot streak into Utah with another solid game. Chriss scored 12-points, but made a crucial impact on the boards, grabbing 13-rebounds— a career-high. All 23 minutes from Chriss turned up the energy for Golden State.
With little under a minute remaining in the third quarter, Chriss appeared to awkwardly make knee-to-knee contact with Emmanuel Mudiay in the final minute of the third quarter in Utah. Chriss hobbled to the bench in pain and quickly limped back into the visitor locker room with a knee contusion. Luckily for Golden State, Chriss promptly returned to the court.
Chriss has been one of the Warriors’ best surprises throughout the season, and now registering two-straight double-doubles, he’s earning more playing time.
Return of the Burk
The former member of the Utah Jazz, Alec Burks, brought it to his former team Friday night. Burks notched his seventh 20-point performance this season against the team that traded him in 2018.
Burks led all Warriors with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
Without Green and Paschall, Burks took over as the primary scorer in Kerr’s offense and thrived. Burks was getting to the bucket like a savvy veteran, even scoring on a turnaround bank shot à la, Tim Duncan.
Bench Mob
Despite being without Green and Paschall, the Warriors bench unit stepped up in Utah. Golden State’s bench dominated Utah’s second unite, outscoring them 52-12.
Damion Lee, Jacob Evans and Chriss all scored in double-digits, combining for 46-points, an impressive number for a thin unit away from home. Now somewhat healthy, bench players aren’t forced into playing time like earlier in the season. With fewer minutes available, the competition off the bench will get tighter as the year progresses.
