Warriors Hang on in Utah for 19th Straight Win

As has been the case since the season began, Golden State was able to prevail when its offense flowed and reigning league MVP (and current league scoring leader) Stephen Curry got going down the stretch.

The latest was one of the toughest.

Curry hit three 3-pointers after he checked in at the 6:36 mark of the fourth quarter. There have been some battles. “We have had some lopsided victories too”, said Curry.

MCEVERS: I mean, we are barely a month into what is a very long season, and already people are making comparisons to the Chicago Bulls, you know, the team that was led by Michael Jordan and won a record 72 games in 1996.

Steph Curry and Draymond Green matched that effort with one worthy of extending it to 19-0.

“Yeah, it was fun”.

While the Warriors have taken care of a few of the NBA’s best, we still haven’t seen them go up against the likes of the Cavaliers, Spurs or Thunder, whom at this point are some of the league’s best teams alongside Golden State. The big man Rudy Gobert did what he does best and pulled down 14 rebounds and got four blocks. At home they got brutally beaten by the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-89.

The 19th consecutive win for the defending champs was not settled until Curry dropped in two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining. A nice finish from Rodney Hood and a missed three by Curry gave Utah the ball with 16 seconds remaining and a mere one-point deficit. “We had a chance”.

The biggest advantage the Warriors would have in a playoff series against the Jazz would be Utah’s inability to go small. Forward Amir Johnson had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Alec Burks scored 19 points off the bench. Walker notched a double-double but the Hornets were outscored 32-21 in the fourth quarter, giving the Warriors a narrow five-point win. He made nine-of-16 three-point attempts. As for the Jazz, Derrick Favors will be back in the lineup after missing the game against New Orleans due to personal reason.

Again, Utah’s lead was short-lived. Curry basically doesn’t miss-he’s shooting 51.5 percent from the field, 44.3 percent from 3-point range, and 93.9 percent from the free-throw line.

The Bulls victory snapped a five-game winning streak for San Antonio, who lost for just the second time in 11 games.

“I felt like we came out from the beginning of the game and had a defensive mindset”, Bradley said. I work on those shots. He hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 26 points.

Curry only had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting before the break.

Jazz: Utah assigned center Tibor Pleiss to its D-League affiliate Idaho Stampede on Monday. Coach Quin Snyder on what they want from the rookie: “Really just to play. Now it’s nice because the Panthers are winning now and they get a lot of national coverage, so it’s easier to find them on TV and watch them like a regular person in Charlotte would”. Warriors G/F Brandon Rush started in place of injured Harrison Barnes (ankle) for the second straight game, and he scored three points. The Golden State Warriors also rank the same for both FG% and EFF%, coming in at first. “No, he was great”.