The Utah Jazz came to the Oracle with the hopes of coming away with a quality win. The Warriors knew they had more to lose and didn’t allow that to happen. From the get-go the Warriors began with a 12-0 run and never looked back. The Warriors played great as a team and push their record to 9-2.
1. Defense
The Warriors didn’t allow the Jazz to score until the 7:53 mark of the first quarter. That’s over four minutes of impeccable defense. There was three turnovers, two blocks, and five missed shots before they finally scored. At the end of the game, they forced a total of 19 turnovers with starters sitting out the entire fourth quarter. The Jazz average a shade below 97 points per game and were held to only 88 which included a 31 point outbreak in the last frame, otherwise it could have been uglier.
The Warriors were contesting every shot and never allowed the Jazz to get into any type of rhythm on offense. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Jazz were able to show some signs of life, but the game was already in the bag at this point. The Warriors did a fantastic job in the first half, only allowing 32 points. That will win you ball games. Although it sounds cliché, defense wins championships.