Ingles, Gobert star as Jazz edge Warriors
PLAYING STRONG defence has typically proven to be a winning formula for Utah. Getting to that point has taken more turns and detours than the Jazz anticipated this season.
Beating the defending NBA champions offers evidence that Utah is finally finding the defensive form the team and its fans took for granted at the end of last season.
Joe Ingles scored 20 points, Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and matched his season-high with four blocked shots to lead the Jazz to a 108-103 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Utah held Golden State to 40 per cent shooting from the field and 32 per cent from the perimeter. The biggest stops came in the final two minutes when the Warriors missed three out of four shot attempts – including a pair of 3-pointers that could have forced overtime.
‘We couldn’t find the necessary energy and execution you need to win in this building.’
“We defended for a full game,” Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell said. “We were locked into the game plan. When you play defence like that and we shoot the way we did, the outcome is going to be the way it was.”
Jae Crowder added 18 points and 11 rebounds while Donovan Mitchell had 15 points on 5-of-26 shooting as Utah won a fourth straight home game.
Stephen Curry scored 32 points, and Kevin Durant added 30 in just the Warriors’ second loss in eight games.
“We let them off the hook a little bit,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “They weren’t playing that well, but we made a lot of mistakes. We couldn’t find the necessary energy and execution you need to win in this building.”
TIP INS
Warriors: Durant passed Gary Payton (21,813 points) for 32nd place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He now has 21,836 points . ... Golden State held the Jazz to 39.8 per cent shooting. It is the first time the Warriors lost this season after holding an opponent to under 40 per cent from the field.
Jazz: Gobert grabbed eight of his 15 rebounds in the first quarter . ... Utah tallied at least 39 points off the bench for the fifth straight home game . ... The Jazz finished with 30 assists, the seventh time they have had at least 30 this season. Ricky Rubio led the way with 10 assists.