February 9th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
It could very well be that we are discovering the renaissance of the Golden State Warriors as they have played some pretty impressive basketball since they got their normal roster playing regularly. In Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz, Stephen Jackson and his crew once again hit their scoring groove against what is typically a defensive-minded team in the Jazz; they would score 68 second-half points as they blew out Utah 116-96 at Oracle Arena.
Neither team did very much during the first half as the Warriors slunk to their locker room clinging onto a 48-45 lead, although truth be told, holding the Jazz to 45 first-points is no small feat. Golden State opened up a 74-60 lead in the third quarter with a 12-2 run capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Jamal Crawford; Monta Ellis would end the third quarter for the Warriors as he hit a jumper with 17 seconds left in the period, sending Golden State into the fourth quarter with an 86-69 lead.
The fourth quarter, much like the third quarter, was all Golden State as they would would score 30 as they coasted to the relatively easy victory. Golden State’s high scorer was Corey Maggette with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot while Jackson added 20 with 10 rebounds, 8 assists and a steal; Kelenna Azubuike pitched in 16 with 6 rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.
Utah was led by Deron Williams with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists but committing 6 turnovers while Mehmet Okur added 21 with 9 rebounds. Golden State (17-35) plays again on Tuesday when they host the New York Knicks while Utah (29-23) returns home to host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Tags: 
