The Warriors won by 22 points to catch up with the Lakers, Klay rebounded strongly, and Curry scored 25 points and 10 assists
On February 13, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a card battle, and the Warriors challenged the Jazz away. Previously, the Warriors had a 25-25 record and ranked 11th in the West, and the Jazz had a 26-27 record and ranked 11th in the West. The Warriors' latest four-game winning streak, including consecutive big wins over the Nets, 76ers and Pacers, either Klay doesn't play, or Klay is abandoned at key moments, and the likes of young Poeger, Kuminga and even Davis are doing well. In the last game, Curry's three-point shot beat the Suns, and the Warriors rebounded obviously. Just before the game, two pieces of news came from the Warriors. First of all, Klay made it clear that he is willing to reduce his role in order to stay with the Warriors, and wants to emulate Miller or Ray Allen at the end of his career. Clay responded through the Bay Area media: We are a very special team, and this relationship is a lifelong bond, more than money.
Bay Area media believe that Clay has made a psychological expectation of a salary cut. In addition, Kerr, Dunleavy Jr., Zaza, including some members of the Warriors' management, all went to Serbia to attend the funeral of former assistant coach Milojevic, and it stands to reason that the whole team should go, but the Warriors can no longer postpone the game, and their schedule is too dense in the second half of the game. The Warriors were commanded by assistant coach Atkinson on an interim basis. In addition, Curry and Kuminga have also stated that as long as the team is fully focused and cohesive, it will be invincible. The Jazz sent away Abaki and Olyniko before the trade deadline in exchange for a first-round pick, and with 14 first-round picks in their hands over the next five years, this is the biggest asset for their rise. Jazz starters: Gionte George + Sexton + Makkanen + Collins + Kessler.
Warriors starters: Curry + Klay + Wiggins + Kuminga + Dream Green. At the beginning of the game, the two teams started to attack, George and Klay scored three points, and then Klay cut in the air, chasing Green three-point shots at the top of the arc, and the Jazz relied on Collins and Kessler to play high, Kuminga and Wiggins immediately responded with a tough attack frame! Wiggins scored a dry pull-out jumper in the middle of the game, and combined with Payton Jr. to rain three-pointers, after Clarkson stopped the bleeding with three points, Poger's throw + chasing three-point bullet was not missing, and the Warriors opened a 10-point lead. In the second half, Curry's three-point shooting also opened his hand, but Horton Tucker chased 4 points in a row, and at the end of the quarter, Poggie and Kuminga continued to rain three-pointers, and after the first quarter, the Warriors led the Jazz 34-26, and all 7 people on the team made three-point shots!
Back in the second quarter, Kuminga turned his back and dunked, Kessler made a strong basket, and Tucker ate Klay on consecutive points to lead the team to continue to narrow the gap. The Warriors relied on Kuminga to hold on, and Clarkson's three-pointer stopped the Warriors. After the Jazz tied the score in the middle period, Curry scored a key layup, and the two sides fell into a tug-of-war after that. In the second half, the Warriors continued to exert their strength, Green held up a layup, Curry hit a three-pointer in a big open position easily, Sexton responded with a burst shot, Curry stepped back and shot + Green scored a three-pointer at the end of the quarter, and the Warriors led the Jazz 63-55 at halftime, Curry, Kuminga, and Green all scored 10 points, and Payton Jr. scored 11 points. Clay is really trying to control his shots, at least not to force his top shots.
At the start of the second half, Klay followed up with a layup + a big empty three-pointer at the top of the arc and hit a continuous shot, Markkanen and Sexton continued to chase points, Wiggins hit a difficult three-pointer against Markkanen, Sexton and Markkanen were indeed efficient, but Podemski's solid throwing, Wiggins' accurate three-pointer, the Warriors always maintained a double-digit lead. In the second half, Wiggins made a three-point foul, Sexton led the team to stop the Warriors, Klay stopped the bleeding with a jumper at a critical moment, and Kuminga made a free throw to stabilize the rhythm. At the end of the quarter, Davis began to make another kill, and Klay countered and scored a layup, and the Warriors led the Jazz 93-80 after the third quarter. Compared to the last 5 games, Clay has more runs and more passes today, which is a positive sign!
Coming back in the fourth quarter, Klay continued to play tough 2+1, and then supported one-legged fancy shots, Kessler and Tucker blossomed inside and out, and Markkanen's three-pointer once helped the Jazz chase a single-digit point difference. At the critical moment, Curry hit two three-pointers to stop the bleeding, Davis ate cake 2+1 in the middle, Curry pushed the counterattack and then chased a three-pointer, and the difference instantly approached 20 points! In the last 4 minutes, Curry hit two more three-pointers to kill the suspense of the game, and finally the Warriors defeated the Jazz 129-107, winning five in a row! After this game, the Warriors were only 0.5 wins away from the Lakers!
Jazz stats, Clarkson 22 points and 4 rebounds, Horton Tucker 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Sexton 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Markkanen 19 points and 5 rebounds, Kessler 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks, Collins 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Warriors statistics, Klay 26 points and 6 rebounds, Curry 25 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists, Wiggins 17 points, Kuminga 14 points and 2 rebounds, Green 12 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, Bojie 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Payton Jr. 11 points, Davis 11 points. When Klay is willing to pass the ball to the youngsters, the Warriors can burst into cohesion.