Golden State Warriors vs Utah Jazz Match Player Stats On May 08, 2017

The Sports Xchange
May 8, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY -- Stephen Curry scored 30 points and Klay Thompson added 21 to help the Golden State Warriors advance to the Western Conference finals with a 121-95 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

The Warriors completed a sweep of the four-game series.

Kevin Durant added 18 points for Golden State, and Draymond Green chipped in 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. JaVale McGee contributed 12 points.

Golden State improved to 8-0 in the postseason after leading wire to wire against Utah.

The Warriors will face the winner of the San Antonio Spurs-Houston Rockets series after sweeping a conference semifinal for the first time since current NBA playoff format began in 1984.

Gordon Hayward scored 25 points and Shelvin Mack added 18 for the Jazz. Dante Exum had 15 points off the bench, while Rudy Gobert chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Utah never fully recovered after enduring another sluggish first quarter.

After trailing by double digits throughout much of the first half, Utah made Golden State sweat a bit during the third quarter. The Jazz closed within 68-63 after Mack drove for a floater.

Durant answered with back-to-back baskets to push the lead back to double digits at 73-63.

Utah hung around behind the efforts of Hayward and Mack, who combined for 23 points in the third quarter.

Golden State pressed down on the gas pedal in the final minute of the third quarter. Curry and Andre Iguodala combined for back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Warriors up 93-79 heading into the fourth quarter.

Golden State overwhelmed and outsmarted the Jazz on both ends of the court throughout the first quarter. The Warriors limited Utah to 6-of-25 shooting from the field and forced four turnovers. On offense, Golden State was 12 of 21 from the floor and went 12 of 12 from the line.

Curry buried back-to-back 3-pointers and Green cut to the rim for a hammer dunk to fuel an 8-0 spurt that gave the Warriors a 12-3 lead. The Green capped an ensuing 10-1 run with a 3-pointer that put Golden State ahead 24-7.

The Warriors led by as many as 24 points in the first quarter after McGee threw down a dunk to put Golden State up 39-15.

Utah used a 16-2 run to get back in the game early in the second quarter. Exum ignited the run with a finger-roll layup on the final Jazz possession of the first quarter. Exum then finished it off with another layup, helping Utah trim Golden State's lead to 41-31.

The Warriors pushed their lead back to 18 points three times after the Jazz run -- the final time on a put-back layup from Durant that put Golden State ahead 58-40.

Utah closed the half on 12-2 run -- highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Joe Ingles and Exum -- and cut the Warriors' lead to 60-52 going into the locker room.

NOTES: Jazz G George Hill missed his third consecutive game with a left big toe sprain. Fellow Jazz G Rodney Hood sustained a right knee sprain early in the fourth quarter and did not return. ... Warriors F Draymond Green posted his first triple-double of the postseason. ... Jazz G Dante Exum scored 11 first-half points after totaling just 14 points in first three games of the series. ... Warriors C JaVale McGee averaged just 2.7 points in Golden State's previous three games against Utah. ... The Jazz averaged 17.5 first-quarter points in the series. ... The Warriors outscored the Jazz 19-4 in fastbreak points Monday.