Curry, Warriors complete sweep of Jazz in rout
Stephen Curry scored 30 points and the Golden State Warriors completed a second-round sweep of the Utah Jazz with a 121-95 victory Monday night.
The defending Western Conference champions have won both their series in four games and now await the winner of the Rockets-Spurs series that is tied at 2-2.
The Warriors kept pace with defending champion Cleveland in what has appeared like an inevitable third straight NBA Finals matchup. Both teams are 8-0 thus far.
Interim head coach Mike Brown said before the game he hoped his team would get out to a fast start and the Warriors did exactly that. Golden State led 39-17 at the end of the first quarter after an onslaught from Klay Thompson and Curry. They combined to shoot 6 for 8 in the opening period.
Thompson finished with 21, Kevin Durant scored 18 and Draymond Green posted his third career postseason triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 25 points and Shelvin Mack chipped in 18.
Curry entered the game averaging 26.7 points in the playoffs, but Thompson had struggled against the Jazz. That ended Monday.
Thompson rebounded from a sixpoint effort in Game 3 with back-to-back jumpers out the gate. Curry then drained consecutive 3s and the rout was on.
The Jazz started 3 for 16 from the field as Golden State hit from all areas and finished shooting 57.1 percent in the first quarter.
Curry picked up right where he left off after an 11-point fourth quarter in Game 3 with a 14-point first quarter. He, Thompson and Green combined for 29 points in that first 12 minutes.
Houston Rockets backup center Nene has suffered a season-ending muscle tear in his left thigh. Nene was injured in the first quarter of Houston’s 125-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday night and didn’t return.
Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry will opt out of the final year of his contract and test free agency this summer. The three-time All-Star has one year and $12 million remaining on the four-year, $48 million deal he signed in July 2014. Lowry averaged career bests of 22.4 points, 7.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game this season but was limited to 60 games because of a right wrist injury that required surgery in February.