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Friday was a great night for basketball in the NBA, crowned by a burner between the Jazz and the Warriors in Salt Lake City. Some considered that it was a (very) early glimpse of the finals of the Western Conference. If so, send me to May already. This game was wild.
Here are six things that have made it so.
1. The Jazz was up 81-69 … at halftime.
This is not a typo: the first defender of jazz, opposing the two-time world champion in title, scored 81 points in the first period. Utah has 11 triples in 24 minutes and five-man double-digit players led by Joe Ingles (14). And they dropped a franchise record of 81 points in the first half!
2. Joe Ingles had a career night.
Ingles has become one of the 100 best players in the league. It could even be higher. He dropped a career-high 27-on-10-15 (7-11 on three), and almost saved the Jazz as the Warriors made their comeback in the fourth quarter. two minutes he sits. The Jazz was totally dependent on him, especially after the fall of Donovan Mitchell's offense in the second half.
In addition, there was this drummer buzzer to complete the third. Banks are open late in SLC.
3. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry were at their best.
It's always amazing to see Durant and Curry playing together when they both cook. Durant was particularly electric in the first period, trying to keep the Warriors at the ready of the Jazz. KD had 24 on 9-13 shot at the break. Curry was particularly crucial when returning from the third quarter, with 16 defeats when shooting from September 7 to 11.
However, neither was able to finish his job: Curry missed a decisive pass 29 seconds from the end of the match and Durant missed the winning rider in the final seconds. (We'll get there.)
4. Seven head changes in the final minutes and a half and three in the last two minutes.
A jagged affair with everyone on the edge of their seats!
5. The revenge of Jonas Jerbeko.
Jerebko was ready to sneak into space to retrieve Durant's bounce and plunge him back just before the ring to save the night of the Warriors.
The Jazz had renounced Jerebko in July, so the winner of the match was surely very nice. Why did Utah abandon it? Partly because of salary cap and size issues, in part because coach Quin Snyder knew he could not guarantee the minutes to Jerebko (a solid player in rotation). The Swede quickly signed a minimum agreement with the Warriors after obtaining derogations (we do not see why no other team would have claimed before Golden State can get started – the teams are really hesitant to claim players out of waivers for any reason).
In his second game with his new team, facing the team that gave up the summer, the guy hit a winning goal. Not bad.
6. This rivalry is real.
After the bucket, the Warriors – those guys with 2 or 3 championships and Olympic gold medals, and a few with MVPs and MVP finals – have completely overtaken Jerebko.
Salt Lake City is a hard place to play right now. The crowd is always there and the jazz is really good. The warriors were against the wall and felt the heat all night. The return was classic in the state of the Golden State, but it was not as simple as usual: the Warriors needed every second of regulation to win.
This celebration was a great opportunity to bond with one of their new players, a friendly veteran from another continent. The warriors are good and smart, and have taken it. But there was also some relief in there, a little salvation that they did not give Utah an ounce of confidence over the next 80 games and playoffs.
The Warriors have heard that jazz is a potential threat in the last two years. This exuberant celebration after Game 2 of 82 was raw and real. The Warriors respect the Jazz and although they may not be afraid of anyone at this point, they are thrilled to have beaten them on Friday.
There are no moral victories in the sport, but even in defeat, Utah said it was ready to give the Warriors a cup this year. The next game in this series is December 19th.
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