Like old times. Golden State Warriors took a valuable victory against Utah Jazz (129-118) with the essence and ingredients that gave him the ring last season and have allowed him to link two victories: fast circulation of the ball with 33 assists and lethality from the perimeter with a 20 of 45 led by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who made a combined 12 of 25. This victory puts them within the limits of the play-in, which is not enough, but it is a lot for a team that in this first part of the course has only won one of its ten trips.
Ten of his nine victories have come at a again-packed Oracle Arena. the poster of there is no ticket does not stop growing in the imposing pavilion of San Francisco. And with that breath, Golden State flies. Or at least try to. Above all, when the movement in attack is fluid and not only with the ball, but also with players without it. An action that led them to add their 12th game with 30 or more assistshalf obtained in these last seven games in which they have a 5-2 record, bringing them to 50% wins this season.
Those passes, that circulation and those movements would mean nothing if Curry and Thompson didn’t show the level they showed this morning. The point guard, in one of his best seasons in individual memory (and it’s not easy to choose), reached 33 points with 6 triples out of 13 attempts. It is the first time in his career that he has surpassed three scores in 12 of 17 games. “It’s just as scary as it was then”, says Willy Hardy, who suffered as an assistant to Gregg Popovich from 2015 to 2021 and last year, in the Finals, as an assistant to the Boston Celtics.
If to the stellar level of Curry you join a recognizable version of Klay Thompson the slope becomes too steep. The guard reached 20 or more points for the fourth time this season with 20 points and a good 6 of 12 from the perimeter, with a streak of three-pointers in a row in the third quarter that reminded us of the best Klay… although he is still a shadow on defense: Jordan Clarkson (21 points) did not have too much difficulty getting past him, over and over again, one on one. “It’s been fun to watch his performance,” Steve Kerr said of his protégé. The Warriors coach also praised his patience in the face of the bumps he has had this season.
Utah didn’t have many options in San Francisco. Despite always being there, within a shot of a good set, they could only be above the score once. And they came to be 17 points down. Another huge performance from Lauri Markkanen (24 points) and a great day from Kelly Olynyk (21) didn’t help. to cut a streak that is already shooting up to three losses in a row.