
The Golden State Warriors were still reeling a bit, both from the Jimmy Butler injury last week and the horrific shorthanded loss they suffered on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
However, with just one matchup with the Utah Jazz left before heading back to the Bay Area, the Warriors locked in and followed up their worst offensive game of the season with their best offensive game yet.
The Warriors scored a season-high 140 points, featuring eight different players in double figures, and handily defeated the Jazz, 140-124. The win moved them to 27-22, now just 3 games behind the Houston Rockets for the 4th-seed and 2.5 games behind both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Timberwolves for the 5th-seed.
Steve Kerr was direct in his postgame press conference with his compliments for the team following the win.
"When we were smart and made the simple play, we got really good looks ... Great win. Good way to end the trip."
It was a weird four-game road trip, to say the least, as the greater issues in Minnesota dominated much of the four days they spent there, alongside two fantastic wins against the Timberwolves and Jazz and two tough losses to the same Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks.
This is the type of win the Warriors sorely needed, though, and is sure to give them some momentum as they had back home.
The Warriors tallied up a total of 39 assists, tying a season-high from their 137-103 blowout over the Sacramento Kings from a few weeks ago. Additionally, they shot 53% from the field while cashing 23 threes on 43% shooting from downtown and going 25-30 from the free-throw line.
It shouldn't be any surprise that Steph Curry led the team in scoring. After missing Monday's game due to some right knee soreness, Curry was cleared to go for this one and wasted no time getting back into form.
The superstar scored 27 points on 50% from the field and splashed four triples. He also went to the free-throw line 10 times, good for the third-highest mark in any game this season.
Right behind him in the box score was Moses Moody, who dropped 26 points on an efficient 9-15 from the field and 5-9 from three. Moody also contributed 5 rebounds and continued his recent string of quality games.
Podziemski was the last starter in double figures, putting up a near-triple double with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Off the bench, Gui Santos had another great game with 16 points, and Will Richard, Buddy Hield, De'Anthony Melton, and Quinten Post rounded out the scoring barrage.
Simply put, it was an unbelievable offensive night from the Warriors that allowed them to overcome 20 turnovers and a pretty average defensive night with ease.
The Warriors will need all the momentum they can get from this one as they get set to take on the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons, next on Friday night.