Jazz Go On Big Run After Sluggish Start Against Warriors
Feb 9, 2022, 8:39 PM
Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
(Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz got off to a slow start against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night but bounced back with a big run of their own.
The Warriors jumped out to a 13-0 lead before the Jazz finally scored and stopped the run. Then they went on a 15-5 run to cut the Golden State lead to 18-15 before Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called a timeout.
Udoka Azubuike sparked the run with a dunk, scoring the first points of the game for the Jazz. Otto Porter made a jumper to extend the lead back to 13. Donovan Mitchell answered with a midrange jumper of his own. Then Mike Conley hit a three just before Porter responded with a triple.
The run started when Azubuike got another dunk. Royce O’Neale followed with a three-pointer, along with a triple from Bojan Bogdanovic. Stephen Curry hit a midrange jump shot to stop the bleeding momentarily.
At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors had a 31-30 lead. Porter Jr. and Jordan Poole led Golden State with eight points. Trent Forrest and O’Neale had six points apiece for the Jazz.
After one the @utahjazz trail the @warriors 31-30.
Hot shooting for both teams in the first quarter as the two combine to make 11-23 threes. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/S190wrS0I9
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 10, 2022
Jazz Trade Ingles Before Game Against Warriors
The Jazz are acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Juancho Hernangomez in a three-team trade including the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs.
The Jazz are sending Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes, and a second-round pick to Portland, while the Spurs are getting Tomas Satoransky and another Jazz second-round pick in the deal.
Ingles suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the Jazz loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last Sunday and was in the final year of his contract with the Jazz.
Hughes was selected by the Jazz in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft.
Alexander-Walker is in the third year of his career after being selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 17th pick of the 2019 NBA draft. Hernangomez has played for four NBA teams over five years during his career.
The Pelicans traded Alexander-Walker to Portland on Tuesday in a move for CJ McCollum, but the guard was quickly redirected to Utah in the trade.
The guard averages 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 26 minutes with the Pelicans this season, but struggled the shoot the ball. The guard knocked down just 37 percent of his field-goal attempts and 31 percent of his threes.
However, the guard was a more established shooter coming out of college knocking down 38 percent of his three-point shots at Virginia Tech. Alexander-Walker has one season remaining on his rookie deal but will be under team control with the Jazz for the foreseeable future.
Hernangomez is averaging just 1.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists for the Spurs this season, but gives the Jazz an expiring contract to flip before Thursday’s trade deadline. The veteran is owed $6.1 million this season and $6.6 million next year, but the final year of his contract is non-guaranteed.
The Jazz and Warriors game can be seen on ESPN or AT&T SportsNet and heard on The Zone Sports Network.
