Lauri Markkanen’s Utah couldn’t keep up with the Golden State Warriors.
Lauri Markkanen The Utah Jazz succumbed to the Golden State Warriors in an important battle in the NBA round of the night. Golden State beat Utah 129-107.
In the match, Markkanen scored 19 points in almost 34 minutes of playing time. He also grabbed five rebounds.
Markkanen was almost 50% successful in his situational throws (8/17). Of the seven three-point attempts, on the other hand, three sank in the middle.
You can watch the best parts of Markkanen’s evening in the video below.
The fight was important for the playoffs, as Utah and Golden State are battling for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Golden State was already ahead of Utah in tenth place before the evening, but now it improved its position and the gap to Utah.
The Warriors have an emotional comeback
For the Warriors players, the return to Salt Lake City was an emotional one, as the previous visit in January was gruesome. Assistant coach Dejan Milojevic had a heart attack in the middle of dinner and died the next day. He was 46 years old.
Now the Warriors faced the Jazz without a head coach Steve Kerrwho traveled to Serbia for Milojevic’s funeral.
The win after the loss had a special meaning for the Warriors.
– We knew that this trip would be difficult in every way. Emotions surfaced when we returned to the place where it happened, the Warriors’ star player Stephen Curry said on ESPN’s website.
According to Curry, it was strange to play without Kerr, but the head coach’s trip to Serbia to visit Milojevic’s loved ones was important for all parties.
The players did their part on the field and won.
– We were able to play well and show respect to Milojevic, Curry underlined.
Utah lost a lot of balls
Utah struggled defensively. That allowed the Warriors to shoot 20 successful threes. The Warriors sank 48 percent of their set shots with certainty, and according to the statistics, they also lost the ball 17 times.
Golden State superstar Stephen Curry scored 25 points in the match. Klay Thompson was a point more efficient.
– They were hot and made some really hard throws and that leads to a snowball effect, Utah head coach Will Hardy your inches.
Hardy also mirrored the match to Utah’s recent player trades.
– I think I was quite open about the fact that I don’t expect these post-trade games to be pretty. The players have gotten a few reps in practice, but you can’t simulate the game, Hardy said, reminding players to adjust to new roles.