OAKLAND — Game No. 81 of the regular season lacked the energy the Warriors have been playing with the last three weeks, and Golden State saw its 14-game losing streak snapped 105-99 at the hands of the Utah Jazz.
Staying true to his word, Steve Kerr said the end of the regular season would be treated with caution, and that winning was no longer the main objective. In a back-and-forth game that featured 12 lead changes, the Warriors did not play any of their All-Stars the last six minutes of the game — Steph Curry didn’t touch the floor in the fourth quarter.
With a closing lineup of Pat McCaw, Ian Clark, Zaza Pachulia, James Michael McAdoo and JaVale McGee, the Warriors essentially threw in the towel to avoid any injuries — obviously the smart play. Utah, meanwhile, kept pace with the Clippers and both teams are locked at 50-31 in the standings with one game remaining. Golden State’s record fell to 66-15, a comical term.
Despite the sleepy circumstances, Curry managed to score 21 first half points and finished with 28 on 6-of-8 from downtown. Kevin Durant kind of blended into the background in the first half, but exploded with a soaring coast-to-coast, crossover dunk in the third quarter that ignited a Warriors rally to end the third quarter. He piped home another slam in the fourth to put the Warriors up 78-74, and ended the night with 16 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high 32 minutes. It was Durant’s 23rd double-double of the season.
You can’t really blame the Warriors for letting their foot off the pedal. For the first time in 15 games, they didn’t really play that hard — and nobody was injured. A 14-game winning streak at the end of the regular season is a hell of an accomplishment to hang your hat on. To compare, Cleveland has gone 25-23 since the calendar turned to 2017.
Draymond Green was whistled for a technical foul after arguing a call early in the third quarter. On the next play down, Green took a charge, and with enthusiastic clapping, he mockingly got the crowd to play along. Green posted a 5-point, 4-rebound, 3-assist night.
Without Gordon Hayward, the Jazz put up a hell of a fight. George Hill led the way with 20 points and Rudy Gobert looked every bit Draymond’s challenger for Defensive Player of the Year with 17 points and 18 rebounds. Boris Diaw also posed some matchup problems. Utah sneakily matches up decently against Golden State — but would still stand no chance in a seven game series in the second round.
Although the Jazz are jockeying for homecourt advantage in a first round matchup with the Clippers, Monday is the exact reason 82 games is just too much for an NBA season. Everyone was going through the motions. Fans on the dance cam didn’t bring pizzazz and fans seated courtside spent heavy portions of the third quarter at the bar next to the locker room. Klay Thompson (rest) wasn’t even sitting on the sidelines on his night off. Good call, buddy.
The regular season concludes Wednesday at Oracle Arena against the Los Angeles Lakers.