· A 20-6 run closes the night for the Utah Jazz as they stunned the Golden State Warriors down the stretch.
· The best part of this is how the Jazz won this game. They did it with defense and transition and guts. The defense in the final 5 minutes was outstanding and up to this point the Jazz have been the worst defensive team in the clutch in the NBA. Walker Kessler had two monster blocks in the final minutes and John Collins had a stripe at the rim. The Jazz defense rotated terrifically on multiple occasions and then executed the foul game very well at the end of the night. Then they capped it off with a Keyonte George steal on a pass intended to Steph Curry.
· The offense late was fueled by the defense and Isaiah Collier. The Jazz got stops and ran. The big play all came within 5 seconds of the stop. Clarkson hit his first three within 5 seconds of a Kessler block. Then Collier scored within 5 seconds of the Collins steal, then Keyonte George’s three with 26 seconds left came within 5 seconds of the Walker blocking Draymond.
· Now lets talk guts. Collier is just a fighter and adds a spirit that is outstanding. Keyonte had huge guts to pull for three in transition to take the lead. That is a monster shot for Keyonte. Will Hardy was asked how Keyonte has been since he went to the bench after the Pacers game and Will said he has been fantastic. Tonight you saw a renewed confidence in Keyonte as he lead the team for part of the stretch run without Collier on the floor.
· Keyonte is shooting 10% better on his EFG when he is on the floor with Collier. This is a testament to how he is more comfortable playing off the ball. Keyonte just may not be a point guard. He doesn’t play with pace and his turnover prone. He looks completely different playing off the ball and all the time at point guard seems to be helping him with his point guard play.
· Tonight Collier and Keyonte combined for 46 points, 17 assists and 2 turnovers.
· This game was fun. The game was tied at 74,76, 85, 87, 89, 92 and 95
· Warriors led this game by 10 with 3 minutes left.
· Steph Curry wasn’t great. He needed 31 shots to get his 32 points
· Jordan Clarkson had a season-high 31 and nailed the two monster threes late and 2 big free throws.
· Walker Kessler 8 offensive rebounds and 10 defensive rebounds
· Jazz who rank last in clutch defense got stops on 5 of 7 possessions in the final minutes at one point
· There was a play where Walker was unreal. His energy and multiple attempts on the offensive glass and then when he didn’t get it he sprinted the floor and got back to cut off the transition. He was sprinting and flying around. The effort was awesome.
· Will Hardy had the quote of the night “We can remember 18 handshakes, 85 TikTok dances but we can’t remember our sideline out-of-bounds plays.”
