Playing on the road against a short-handed Golden State squad, the Jazz overcame a slow start to secure a much-needed victory on Sunday night.
Final score: Jazz 110, Warriors 91.
"I think we came out ready," Rudy Gobert said after the game. "They hit a lot of tough shots in the first quarter, and we just stayed consistent and played our game."
The Jazz (42-32) have now won 23 of their past 27 games and sit in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, 1.5 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets.
Utah spread the wealth on offense, with seven players scoring in double figures. Donovan Mitchell (21 points) and Gobert (17 points) led the way, while Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder added 14 points each in the win.
Danté Exum recorded season highs in both points (13) and assists (five) in 17 minutes off the bench.
Golden State (54-19) played without its four All-Stars—Stephen Curry (knee), Kevin Durant (ribs), Klay Thompson (hand) and Draymond Green (flu).
Quinn Cook (17 points) and Andre Iguodala (12 points) were the only Warriors players to score in double figures in the loss.
Sunday's Best
Gobert dominated on both ends of the floor, finishing with 17 points (on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting), 15 rebounds, three assists and four blocks in 31 minutes. Over his past five games, Gobert is averaging 15.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while shooting 71.8 percent from the field and 81.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Key Stretches
After struggling in the first quarter, Utah came alive with a 16-4 run early in the second period. Exum swooped in for a layup, Ingles canned two 3-pointers, and Exum hit a three of his own. Exum added another layup and then dished to Crowder for a bucket to put Utah ahead 36-28. Exum shot 3-for-3 from the field and dished out two assists during that stretch. The Jazz would eventually take a six-point lead into the half.
The Jazz opened up the second half on an 18-3 run to take complete control. Ingles drilled a three and then dished to Gobert for a two-handed jam that sent Warriors defenders running for cover. Mitchell dropped in a floater in the lane and then hit nothing but net on a three from the wing. Derrick Favors put in a layup in traffic, and Rubio canned a corner three to give Utah a 71-50 lead less than four minutes into the third quarter. The Jazz cruised from there.
Significant Stats
51.8
After shooting only 36.8 percent in the first quarter, the Jazz shot 51.8 percent the rest of the way.
169
Mitchell—who shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc—has now made 169 3-pointers this season, which moved him past Curry (166) into second place on the all-time rookie list. Damian Lillard is first with 185 threes.
27
The Jazz dished out 27 assists, but none of those were by Rubio. It was only his second game all season without an assist. Ingles (eight), Mitchell (six) and Exum (five) led the way.
Coach's Quote of the Night
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
Raul Neto (wrist) did not play for the Jazz. ... Utah outscored Golden State 25-9 on second-chance points. ... Favors finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. ... The Jazz shot 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range. ... David Stockton got his first action as a member of the Jazz, finishing with two points in three minutes.
Up Next
The Jazz will return home to face the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30pm MT.
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