OAKLAND, Calif. _ The Golden State Warriors could not look ahead to the NBA All-Star break. Not when they played a Utah Jazz team that historically took advantage of the Warriors' miscues.
So, the Warriors finished with a 115-108 victory over the Jazz on Tuesday at Oracle Arena. That happened after the Warriors relied on their talent in sluggish wins against Phoenix and Miami.
Kevin Durant (28 points on 11-of-19 shooting), Stephen Curry (24), Klay Thompson (22), Andre Iguodala (13) and DeMarcus Cousins (12 points) all posted double-figures. Draymond Green played an instrumental part in the team's defense. Cousins, who also had 10 rebounds and five assists played a season-high 28 minutes. The Warriors plan to rest Cousins on Wednesday's game in Portland, marking the team's first back-to-back since Cousins returned from a left Achilles injury just over three weeks ago.
Thompson sprained his left ring finger in the first quarter and left for the locker room to get it taped. Thompson then returned midway through the second quarter and shot 9-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3.
The Warriors had lost to the Jazz, 108-103, in late December. The Warriors also only beat the Jazz in the second game of the season because of a Jonas Jerebko putback at the buzzer. This time, the Warriors (41-15) won their 16th game in the last 17 contests. The Jazz (32-25) featured Donovan Mitchell (25 points), Ricky Rubio (16), Rudy Gobert (13), Derrick Favors (13), Royce O'Neale (13) and Raul Neto (10) all netting double figures.
