Utah Jazz eliminates Warriors for eighth straight win, then talks about title contention

After advancing to a 30-point lead at halftime, a 40-point lead after three quarters, then a 127-108 victory over Golden State on Saturday night at Vivint Arena, Utah Jazz – now an eight-game winner in a row – fly high.

Maybe a little too much.

They are, after all, a group whose unofficial team mantra is “Never too high, never too low.” But after improving to 12-4 over the season with a victory that was nowhere as close as the final score might suggest, the Jazz suddenly face soaring expectations, despite the views. by Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.

And so, after the win, the Utah coach and players sought to put it all into perspective before the growing narrative turned into a descending 18 wheeler with brakes that didn’t work.

“Were not [even] a quarter of the season. I’m not trying to dampen the enthusiasm – it’s okay to feel good about the way you play. But there’s a long season ahead, it’s a marathon, and there are games where it clicks like tonight and there are other games you have to face, “said coach Quin Snyder. “And I just want us to stay stable. Neither too high nor too low. The fact that we’re playing well right now is a good thing, but the challenge is to keep playing well, and that’s what we’re looking for.

But it’s also hard not to go overboard when the coach of the most recent NBA dynasty now compares your team to his team.

Ahead of Saturday’s game, Steve Kerr of the Warriors was asked about trying to strike a balance between exercising the patience needed to develop his young talent with the urgency needed to win other games. He noted that each team should have a good idea of ​​their place in the food chain, and highlighted the difference between their own group and the Jazz.

“[Utah] is a team of veterans. They’re trying to win a championship right now, and I think they’re capable of doing it, ”Kerr said. “Watching them on tape, the continuity they have from where we are, it’s night and day, just with the performance. You know, they’re where we were three or four years ago.

Great praise – which Jazz then came out and made to appear prescient.

Aside from a hugely sloppy, garbage-ridden fourth quarter plagued by turnovers and with 7-for-19 shots from deep reserves, this was a dominant performance in many ways.

For starters, the Warriors, before the fourth throw, only made 29 of 70 shots (41.4%). As for Utah, a team that was already setting league records for 3-point shooting was once again hot beyond the arc, finishing 20 of 50 this time around. The Jazz accumulated 77 points at halftime.

Non-superstar Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points in 27 minutes, while somehow managing to add seven rebounds and six assists, although he had no ability to influence games. beyond getting buckets.

His half-dozen of ten, alas, was only the team’s second-best score, with Bojan Bogdanovic setting a new career record with eight (to go along with 14 points and seven rebounds).

Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert contributed 11 points and 14 rebounds. Mike Conley lost 17 points and played an exquisite perimeter defense. Sixth man Jordan Clarkson added 14 on the bench. His reserve mate Joe Ingles dropped 13 points – all after the break, three of which came on an open trey after breaking Kent Bazemore’s ankles with what the broadcast team lovingly called “the slowest crossover.” of the world”.

“Yeah, I mean it’s not a consistent part of my game, obviously. I think Rudy probably tripped him, to be honest, ”said Ingles, seemingly pained by a question about it. “I don’t think any of my moves are so cool that someone is going to go for such a bad scythe – let’s be honest.

As for the victory of Jazz on Saturday and its overview of their position …

“Honestly, on the next one. It was good, [but] there are still things we’re going to watch the movie about. … We’ll be watching a movie and there will be things that we know we haven’t done as well, things that we can do better 10 out of 10 times instead of nine out of 10, ”Ingles added. “Obviously we are a confident team and we are confident in the style that we are playing. We’re going to miss shots, we’re going to take shots sometimes, but I think our defense has been pretty consistent – obviously, tonight. And we were also able to take pictures. When we play on both sides, we are a difficult team to face.

Mitchell agreed, saying while enjoying Kerr’s praise, he wasn’t ready to accept such lofty comparisons after an eight-game winning streak.

“We have our pushes and our moments. … But we have a way to go – in a good way. We really do a lot of things the right way, but there are things we can do better, ”he said. “… It’s certainly a compliment, but the most important thing is that we just focus on what we’re doing. We’re not trying to duplicate what they did at Golden State. We didn’t even get past the second round. … That’s a huge compliment from Coach Kerr, sure, but we see it as game by game, step by step, step by step. It’s a long season – we’ve only played 16 games and anything can happen. So we have to stay locked up and stay where we are. And with that, with the little details, success will come.