Down their four leading scorers, the Warriors lacked the firepower to defeat a staunch Jazz team, falling 110-91 to Utah on Sunday night. The Dubs hung tight in the first half and held a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but things unraveled over the final two frames, as the Jazz ran away with the game. Quinn Cook led Golden State with 17 points and eight assists, while Andre Iguodala added 12 points, all by way of a season-high four three-pointers. With the loss, Golden State drops to 54-19 on the season.
TEAM LEADERS
NEW LINEUP
Due to an injury bug that just won’t seem to quit, the Warriors on the court on Sunday were not the ones we’re used to seeing. After Stephen Curry joined Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson on the injury report with a sprained MCL suffered in Golden State’s previous game, the Warriors hoped they’d have at least one of their NBA-high four All-Stars on hand for Sunday’s game, but Draymond Green came down with flu-like symptoms and was unable to play. Add in reserves Omri Casspi and Chris Boucher, who both missed the game with sprained ankles, and the Warriors’ collective injuries forced Steve Kerr to get creative.
The Warriors began the contest with a starting lineup of Quinn Cook, Nick Young, Patrick McCaw, Kevon Looney and JaVale McGee. Prior to Sunday’s game, that fivesome hadn’t played a single minute together this season.
BEFORE THE LIGHT
The Warriors didn’t have a ton of bright spots in Sunday’s game, but one of them was provided by Nick Young, who closed the first half on a high note. After Andre Iguodala and Donovan Mitchell traded three-pointers in the final 31 seconds of the second quarter, Young got the last laugh with a layup with 1.5 seconds left to trim the deficit to six points going into halftime.
IGUODALA FROM DISTANCE
Prior to Sunday’s game, Iguodala had made no more than two three-pointers in any game this season, but he doubled that against the Jazz. Iguodala was a perfect 2-of-2 from long distance in the opening quarter, and 3-of-3 in the first half. He finished the game 4-of-5 from three-point range, continuing a stretch in which he’s been extremely accurate since the All-Star break. Factoring in Sunday’s game, Iguodala has now made precisely 50.0 percent of his three-point attempts since February 24th.
FIRST BUCKET
With the Jazz holding a big lead throughout the majority of the second half, some of the guys on the end of Golden State’s bench got an increased opportunity. One of those players was Damian Jones, who provided a nice stretch in the fourth quarter, including his first basket of the season.
Jones, of course, has spent the majority of the season playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League. He finished Sunday’s game with six points and four rebounds in 12 minutes.
UP NEXT
Golden State’s homestand continues on Tuesday when the Warriors take on the Pacers for the first time this season. FIND TICKETS