
The Golden State Warriors were primed for a bounce-back game against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. After falling horrifically to the Oklahoma City Thunder on the front end of the back-to-back, Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green all returned to action against the Jazz.
Though Green only ended up playing 12 minutes after getting ejected in the second quarter due to two technical fouls, Curry's 31-point performance was enough to get the Warriors the win, 123-114. This marked their 6th win in the past eight games and got them back to two games over .500.
After the game, Curry talked about what led to the Warriors' impressive third quarter, ultimately paving the way for the victory.
"(We) got some clean looks and understood what they were trying to do defensively and took advantage of switches. We played great defense for most of that quarter, which gave us some transition opportunities where we were able to run and beat the defense before they get set up, so that usually plays into our hand."
"Thankfully, shots went in and gave us a lot of momentum, and the group that started the fourth did a great job to capitalize. Holding (the Jazz) to 18 in the fourth — no matter how many points you score, you can win a lot games that way."
Curry also touched upon the changes the Warriors made to their offense without Green, especially in the second half.
"I just ran a lot of pick and roll, kept it pretty simple. I understood what they were trying to do defensively, whether it was a contain blitz or they were just going to switch and put the big on me, and you're able to have a predictable offense that way. There was less chaos in the off-ball action with me, so it was a necessary adjustment with him out."
It was a party behind the three-point line for the Warriors. An astounding eight players knocked in a triple, led by Curry with six and both De'Anthony Melton and Brandin Podziemski with three.
As a whole, the Warriors shot 19-of-45 from downtown, splashing the 6th-most threes in any game this season. In particular, the third quarter was extremely kind to them offensively, as they scored 42 points — the third-highest mark in a third quarter this season.
This quarter was highlighted by a signature "Curry Flurry", as the two-time MVP scored 20 points, including four three-pointers, to take a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Additionally, as Curry said postgame, the Jazz scored just 18 points in the final frame, missing multiple shots and overall having a difficult time finding any rhythm offensively. Thus, even though the Warriors only had 23 in the last quarter, it was more than enough to come away with the victory.
The Warriors will get the rest of the weekend off before they head down to Southern California to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.