Warriors stay hot at home, come back to beat Jazz 112-107
The Warriors will get a day off before returning to action Friday when
they host the Portland Trail Blazer, the new team of former Warriors
defensive ace Gary Payton II.
>Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (3) takes a shot against Utah
Jazz’s Walker Kessler (24) in the second quarter at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area
News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: December 28, 2022 at 9:33 p.m. | UPDATED: December 29, 2022
at 9:21 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/28/warriors-stay-hot-at-home-come-back-to-beat-jazz-112-107/

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors continued their roll at home Wednesday
night, climbing out of a 10-point third-quarter hole to beat the Utah
Jazz 112-107.

Jordan Poole scored a team-high 26 points, Donte DiVincenzo hit five 3s
and Ty Jerome added 17 off the bench to help Golden State seal its third
consecutive victory to tie the team’s longest win streak of the season.

After trailing the Jazz for most of the game, the Warriors — and the
sell-out Chase Center crowd — turned up the intensity in the final frame.

Jerome intercepted Jordan Clarkson’s pass and ran it to the other end
before gathering himself to knock down a 3. As the ball went through the
net, he glared at his bench who was hooting and hollering. The Jazz came
up empty handed on their next possession, while the Warriors hit another
3 — this time by DiVincenzo. That put Golden State up 107-101, its
largest lead of the game, with 4:43 left.

Clarkson split a pair of free throws to pull the Jazz within two with 24
seconds left. The Jazz then intentionally fouled DiVincenzo, a career
76.8% shooter from the charity stripe. He made both his freebies to put
the Warriors up by four with 19.3 seconds left.

On the other end, Jerome secured the rebound, his seventh of the game,
and pumped his fist in the air.

The Jazz couldn’t close the gap, and the Warriors held on, outscoring
the visitors 24-13 in the fourth, spurring fans to wave their gold rally
towels in the air. Golden State, led by defensive anchor Draymond Green,
limited the Jazz to just four field goals in the final 12 minutes.

“It’s inspiring watching Draymond patrol the pain and kind of control
everything because guys will get penetration and then he’s there playing
cat and mouse,” coach Steve Kerr said after the Warriors first win this
season without both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the floor. “He
just anchored things and then we just had guys fighting, scrapping out
there all around the play and getting to loose balls, rebounds and it
was really fun to watch.”

DiVincenzo finished with 17 points. Green tallied six points, nine
rebounds and five assists. The Warriors’ bench outscored the Jazz’ 45-32
in what was another total group-effort win.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. also deserved attention for his positive contributions.

With Jonathan Kuminga in foul trouble — he picked up three in the first
half and fouled out about halfway through the final period — Baldwin got
an extended run and scored in double figures for only the second time in
his career.

Baldwin knocked down a pair of 3s during a 10-0 Warriors’ run in the
second that helped them knot the game up at 54 apiece after being down
by as many as 12. The rookie, whom the Warriors drafted No. 28 overall,
ended the night with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

“It definitely feels good just to get a rhythm,” said Baldwin, who had
practiced in Santa Cruz earlier in the day before getting called back up
to the big-league club. “As a team, when we are at home, we get a
rhythm, it’s nice to build off that.”

Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points in the first three quarters but held
scoreless in the fourth. He finished with 16 rebounds, an assist and a
block, while Clarkson added 22 points, three rebounds and two assists.

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>Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (3) takes a shot against Utah
Jazz’s Kelly Olynyk (41) in the fourth quarter at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area
News Group)

The Warriors got the job done without Curry for the fourth time since he
went down with a left shoulder injury on Dec. 14. The win brought them
back to an even record right with reinforcements on the horizon.

Thompson didn’t play Wednesday because it was the backend of a
back-to-back but should be good to go Friday when the 18-18 Warriors
welcome the 18-16 Portland Trail Blazers. Andrew Wiggins, who missed 12
consecutive games with a groin injury and a non-COVID illness, is
doubtful for that game but expected to make his return soon, Kerr said.

The Warriors, who own the league’s best record at home at 15-2, have
five games remaining of their longest homestand of this season. This
gives them some time to make up ground in the Western Conference, where
they’re seated at 10th place, even with Curry sidelined for the
foreseeable future.

Kerr said Wednesday’s victory felt different based on the circumstances.

“This was a game we wouldn’t have won a few weeks ago,” he said. “Our
young guys are really growing… We’ve shown a lot of grit here on the
last few games.”