Warriors 14-Game Win Streak Snapped By Jazz
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 18 rebounds, Joe Johnson added a key 3-pointer with 80 seconds remaining and the Utah Jazz beat Golden State 105-99 on Monday night to snap the Warriors' 14-game winning streak.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr, his team already assured of the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, opted to rest most of his starters for the entire fourth quarter and the Jazz (50-31) took advantage to end a seven-game losing streak at Oracle Arena.
George Hill had 20 points and Johnson finished with 19, including five 3s, as Utah also kept alive its shot at moving past the Clippers for the No. 4 seed in the West.
Stephen Curry had 28 points in three quarters for the Warriors (66-15), while Kevin Durant added 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in his second game back from a knee injury.
Utah won despite being without Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood and Raul Neto, all of whom have been nursing nagging injuries.
Golden State was also short-handed, as Kerr rested Klay Thompson.
With nothing at stake for the Warriors, the Jazz rode Gobert's seven-point fourth quarter to their first win at Oracle Arena since April 7, 2013.
Gobert's follow shot gave Utah an 83-82 lead with 7 minutes left. He later scored on an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Boris Diaw, then blocked a shot by Patrick McCaw to preserve the Jazz's lead.
Durant, who missed more than a month while injured, showed no lingering effects at all. He brought the Oracle Arena crowd to its feet with a soaring one-handed dunk late in the third quarter when drove baseline for another one-handed stuff.
While much attention remained on Durant's comeback, the game began as a shootout between Curry and Hill.
Hill was just as sharp and made four of his first five shots beyond the arc to help the Jazz build an early double-digit lead early in the second quarter before Curry helped bring the Warriors back.
The reigning two-time MVP had 15 points in the first quarter and made five 3s in the first half to put Golden State up at the half.
SPECIAL GUEST
The Warriors flew in a new ballboy for the game — 7-year-old Brody Stephens from Indiana. Stephens, who suffers from leukemia, attended the team's shootaround earlier in the day as well as Kerr's pregame press conference as guests. Stephens first met the Warriors when he was visited in the hospital by Curry last November when Golden State was in Indiana to play the Pacers.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Hayward (bruised left quad), Favors (left knee soreness), Hood (right knee soreness) and Neto (sprained left ankle) sat out after playing in Portland two nights earlier. . Dante Exum went down hard in the first quarter after getting blocked from behind by JaVale McGee while attempting a dunk.
Warriors: Drayond Green picked up his 14th technical foul of the season in the third quarter. . Matt Barnes (sprained right ankle) did not play and will sit out the season finale as well. "Hopefully we'll get him back during the first round," Kerr said.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host the Spurs in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Utah has lost two of the three meetings between the two
Warriors: Face the Los Angeles Lakers in the regular-season finale at Oracle Arena on Wednesday. Golden State has won eight straight home games versus the Lakers.
© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
