Golden State Warriors vs Utah Jazz Match Player Stats On May 06, 2017

The Sports Xchange
May 6, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY -- Kevin Durant recorded 38 points and 13 rebounds to help the Golden State Warriors overcome poor shooting early and beat the Utah Jazz 102-91 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinals series.

Stephen Curry added 23 points on 6-of-20 shooting for Golden State, which has won 22 of its last 23 games. The only setback came was a 105-99 loss to Utah on April 10.

Gordon Hayward scored 29 points while Rudy Gobert added 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz. All five starters scored in double figures for Utah, but it wasn't enough to overcome a fourth-quarter surge by the Warriors.

Trailing 79-78 midway through the fourth quarter, Golden State seized the lead for good on back-to-back layups from Draymond Green and Durant. The Jazz cut the deficit to a basket after Hayward buried three free throws to make it 86-84.

Curry and Durant answered with back-to-back 3-pointers. Then Curry added three free throws to finish off a 9-0 run and put the Warriors up 95-84 with 2:36 remaining.

The Jazz came close to taking their first lead of the series during the first quarter before a cold spell on offense ripped away momentum. Hayward hit a jumper out of a timeout and Gobert followed with a dunk on the next possession to knot the score at 10-10.

Utah's forward progress halted when it went nearly four minutes without scoring a field goal. The Jazz missed seven straight shots until Hayward buried back-to-back jumpers to finally end the drought. Golden State took advantage, using a 12-2 run -- sparked by a go-ahead 3-pointer from Durant -- to take a 22-13 lead.

Utah shot just 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from the floor in the first quarter.

The Jazz found an offensive spark early in the second quarter. They cut Golden State's lead to 31-27 when Gobert capped a 7-0 run after turning a steal by Shelvin Mack into a breakaway dunk. Durant countered with jumpers on three straight possessions to steal back momentum.

Utah made another charge later in the quarter. The Jazz finally took their first lead of the series when Rodney Hood buried a corner 3-pointer to put his team up 48-47 with 1:01 left before halftime.

Utah's offense made strides in the second quarter, with the Jazz shooting 12-of-19 from the field.

Once in front, Utah built a cushion early in the third quarter. Hayward ignited a 12-2 run with a jumper and fueled it with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Jazz a 62-53 lead.

Zaza Pachulia completed a 3-point play and Durant buried a 3-pointer to bring Golden State back within a basket. The Warriors finally overtook Utah again behind back-to-back baskets from Curry. Those baskets broke a string of 10 straight misses for Curry. His consecutive baskets capped a 7-0 run that put Golden State back up 67-66.

The Warriors managed to take a 72-70 lead into the fourth quarter despite shooting just 8-of-24 from the field in the third.

NOTES: Jazz PG George Hill (toe) missed his second straight game. ... Warriors F Andre Iguodala played in his 100th career playoff game. ... Jazz C Rudy Gobert went 7-of-15 from the free-throw line. Gobert was responsible for all but two of the total missed free throws for Utah. ... Warriors PG Stephen Curry has made 270 career 3-pointers in the postseason. Curry has made at least one 3-pointer in an NBA-record 65 playoff games.