Jazz at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are enjoying a four-game winning streak and just put together one of their most impressive performances of the season. The trick now is to maintain that same level of focus and not look ahead as the high-scoring Warriors try to solve the best defensive team in the league when they host the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Golden State is closing out a three-game homestand against the Jazz before hitting the road for a stretch of three straight, culminating in a Christmas Day NBA Finals rematch at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The Warriors looked like they could beat any team with the way they played on Saturday, when they shot 58.6 percent from the field and held the Portland Trail Blazers to 39.5 percent in a 135-90 win. Utah will put its league-best scoring defense (94.6) up against that offense as it tries for an eighth win in the last nine games. The lone loss in that span came at home against Golden State on Dec. 8, when the Jazz nearly battled back from a 24-point deficit but fell just short in a 106-99 setback.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, ROOT (Utah), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (18-10): Utah allowed fewer than 90 points in three of its last four games and put on a defensive clinic while holding the Memphis Grizzlies to 30.1 percent shooting in an 82-73 triumph on Sunday. Jazz center Rudy Gobert went 9-of-9 from the field and finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds for his seventh straight double-double. “To be honest, right now, I think it’s me,” Gobert told ESPN, when asked who was the best center in the league. "But it’s a long season. I just try to take every game as a challenge. The hardest thing is to do it [for] the full season."
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (24-4): Golden State might boast the best player in the league at more than one position, and Kevin Durant is looking like the best forward in the game and a perfect fit for the team of late. Durant scored 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting on Saturday and is fully embracing the rapid ball movement that makes the team successful. "There have been moments throughout the season where I wouldn't say you're surprised, but it's kind of just 'Wow' moments where you appreciate the talent on this squad all the way through," two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry told reporters.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors reserve SG Ian Clark went 9-of-11 from the field on Saturday and is 6-of-9 from 3-point range in the last three contests.
2. Jazz PF/C Boris Diaw is 24-of-40 from the floor in the last seven games.
3. Golden State took the last six in the series.