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The Roundup—Jazz 99, Warriors 106

Yeah, it was a loss. But man it was fun.

Playing without four of their five regular starters, the Utah Jazz dug themselves a big early hole and couldn't quite get themselves out, eventually falling to the Golden State Warriors 106-99 Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz, who were missing Gordon Hayward (finger), George Hill (toe), Rodney Hood (hamstring) and Derrick Favors (knee), fell behind by 24 points in the first quarter before cutting Golden State's lead to five early in the fourth. Kevin Durant proved to be too much down the stretch, converting two three-point plays and scoring 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory for the Warriors (20-3).

Joe Ingles led the Jazz (14-10) with 21 points (a new career high), while Rudy Gobert finished with 20 points (on 8-for-8 shooting) and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Shelvin Mack added 19 points and five assists, and Joe Johnson added 13 points in 28 minutes.

Reigning league MVP Stephen Curry led all scorers with 28 points, while Draymond Green nearly tripled-doubled with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the win.

Thursday's Best

The Jazz got off to a rough start (five points in the first nine minutes) but Ingles came off the bench and got things rolling with a layup and two straight 3-pointers. He turned up the heat later on with two more threes to help close the gap in the second half. In all, he had 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting (including a career-high five 3-pointers), five rebounds, three assists and four steals. His two free throws in the final 10 seconds helped him set a new career high for points in a game.

Key Stretches

A scoop layup by Mack and a floater in the lane by Joe Johnson gave the Jazz a quick 4-0 lead ... and then Golden State turned it on with a 29-1 run. A jumper by Klay Thompson. A 3-pointer by Curry. A jumper by Durant. Another three by Curry. A breakaway layup by Thompson (after a block by Durant). That's pretty much how it went for eight minutes or so as the Warriors raced to a 29-5 lead.

The Jazz, though, got feisty and battled back with a 12-0 run in the third quarter. Gobert threw down two dunks. Ingles grabbed a sneaky steal that led to a reverse layup by Trey Lyles. Another steal by Danté Exum resulted in a breakaway layup by Raul Neto. And then Ingles hit nothing but net on a long three to cut Golden State's lead to nine at 73-64 with 4:43 left in the quarter. The Jazz eventually pulled within five early in the fourth quarter when Ingles rattled in another three, but that's as close as they got.

Significant Stat

135

In a game that was expected to be a blowout (but wasn't, obviously), Golden State's star quartet of Curry (36 minutes), Durant (36 minutes), Thompson (28 minutes) and Green (35 minutes) didn't get to rest or coast to the finish. They combined for 135 minutes of court time—a testament to Utah's second-half perserverence.

Coach's Quote of the Night

Notable

The Jazz held the Warriors to only 17 points in the third quarter and 41 points in the second half. ... Exum struggled from the field (1-for-11) but also finished with five assists. ... When Green stepped to the line and missed two free throws with 2:33 left in the game, the crowd erupted in celebration of all the free Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches they will partake of within the next 48 hours.

Up Next

The Jazz will stay at home to take on the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS.

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