Curry, Warriors solid

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 22 points in three quarters of work and Golden State warmed up in a hurry after a long layoff between playoff games, beating Utah 106-94 on Tuesday night in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals.

Draymond Green had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry pulled off a spin move around Rudy Gobert at the perimeter, went in for a layup and raised his hands, begging the sellout crowd to do its thing.

The Golden State Warriors sure did theirs, using that up-tempo, pass-happy style to run right by the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Curry scored 22 points in three quarters of work and the top-seeded Warriors warmed up after a layoff between playoff games, beating the Jazz 10694 on Tuesday night.

“I’ll keep enjoying it. I feel like I have one of the better seats in the house and I’m not even paying for it,” Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown said when asked about Curry’s slick moves.

Draymond Green scored Golden State’s first 6 points of the fourth quarter and finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots. Kevin Durant added 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists while Zaza Pachulia scored 10 points in 14 minutes for the Warriors.

Gobert had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and a Flagrant 1 foul on Green in the fourth quarter for the Jazz, who made the quick turnaround after finishing off the Clippers in a seven-game series Sunday.

Green insisted it might take the Warriors a quarter or so to find their rhythm as they finally got to play again. They weren’t sharp from threepoint range, going 7 for 29, with Klay Thompson making three of those on his way to 15 points.

The methodical, slow-you-down Jazz team making its first playoff appearance in five years couldn’t keep pace in transition, however.

“If you have those moments where you’re not urgent enough, they just punish you for it,” Jazz Coach Quin Snyder said.

The Warriors outscored the Jazz 29-6 on fast-break points and committed only seven turnovers, matching a franchise playoff-low.

AP/MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ Golden State guard Stephen Curry scored a game-high 22 points in three quarters as the Warriors beat Utah 106-94 in the first game of their NBA Western Conference semifinal series Tuesday night.