San Francisco, Apr 3 (BUS): Klay Thompson scored 36 points and the Golden State Warriors came from behind in the last quarter of 16 points to defeat the Utah Jazz 111-107 on Saturday night.
Jordan Paul added 31 and Andrew Wiggins scored 17 as the Warriors scored a playoff point and closed a four-game losing streak. At 49-29, they beat the Dallas Mavericks for the third seed in the Western Conference by one game. Utah is tied with Denver for fifth, the Associated Press reports.
Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley each have 26 for Utah State. It was an all-too-familiar story for the Jazz, who blew a 25-point lead in the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. Utah has lost 15 games this season, posting a double-digit lead.
Lagging 103-87 with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth inning, the Warriors won 18-0 to lead 105-103 with 2:10 from the left. Thompson hit three three-pointers during the stretch.
The Jazz had a chance to take the lead with 20 seconds left, but Rudy Gobert threw an out-of-bounds pass after clearing a rebound. The Warriors put the game away at the free throw line.
The Jazz led up to 21 in the first half and took a 58-45 lead in the locker room. Mitchell had 17 but had a lot of help, as the Utah bench outnumbered Golden State’s second team 17-5 over the first two quarters.
Paul scored 19 in the first half for the Warriors, including 14 in the second quarter.
Hints
Jazz: Conley scored 9 points in the third quarter, which helped stem the tide of jazz as the Warriors tried to eat in their lead. …Hassan Whiteside entered the match midway through the first quarter, his first act after missing the previous four matches with a fractured bone in his right foot.
Warriors: Golden State made 11 spins in the first half that led to 17 points from Utah. … coach Steve Kerr said forward Andre Iguodala will miss Sunday’s game in Sacramento in a bid to keep the veteran fresh in the playoffs. …the Oakland Tech High School girls’ basketball team, fresh from the state’s Division III championship, attended the game and received a welcome note during the first quarter timeout.
next one
Jazz: Host Memphis will kick off Tuesday to kick off the season finale.
Warriors: Play in Sacramento on Sunday, looking forward to sweeping the season series.