Unlikely hero lifts Warriors past hot-shooting Jazz

 

 

MANILA, Philippines – Jonas Jerebko buried the game-winning tip-in as the Golden State Warriors rallied from 16 points down to escape the Utah Jazz, 124-123, in the NBA thriller on Friday, October 19 (Saturday, October 20, Manila time) at Salt Lake City, Utah.

Playing just his second game with the Warriors, Jerebko made his former team pay as he scored on a follow up off a Kevin Durant miss with just three-tenths of a second left. 

Durant led the Warriors with a game-high 38 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists as Steph Curry also erupted for 31 points and dished out 8 assists.

The defending champion Warriors overcame the hot-shooting Jazz, who exploded for 81 points in the first half. 

JONAS JEREBKO FOLLOWS IT IN! #DUBNATION pic.twitter.com/bUC37mR8QS

— NBA (@NBA) October 20, 2018

Joe Ingles dropped 27 points and Donovan Mitchell also scored 19 to power the Jazz, who knocked in a whopping 19 triples in the game.

Jae Crowder unloaded 16 points, the final bucket on a follow up that put the Jazz ahead for the last time, 123-122, with 51.4 seconds left.

The Jazz held an 81-69 advantage at halftime before Durant and Curry fueled the Warriors’ second-half comeback.

The @utahjazz erupt for  points in the 1st half! #TeamIsEverything #KiaTipOff18

Catch the 2nd half on @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/jUe8kWfWgG

— NBA (@NBA) October 20, 2018

Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds as Milwaukee Bucks tried out their new long-range attack in their home opener to beat the Indiana Pacers, 118-101. 

Khris Middleton delivered 25 points for the Bucks who attempted a franchise record 47 shots from beyond the arc.

First-year Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said they are trying to be aggressive and create space for three-point attempts.

“If there’s going to be rotations, there’s going to be helps, there’s going to be shifts, and there’s opportunities to shoot threes, then we’ll take those,” he said.

Victor Oladipo scored 25 points and Doug McDermott added 14 for the Pacers in the loss.

The Bucks stretched their lead to 93-76 at the end of the 3rd quarter after leading 62-53 at the half.

Milwaukee ranked 25th in the NBA last season with 24.7 three-point attempts per game. They finished 17-of-47, with Antetokounmpo missing all 7 he launched.

Milwaukee drained 14-of-34 three point attempts as they beat Charlotte 113-112 in their season opener on Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo said the long-range assault is part of their game plan now.

“That comes from the coach,” said Antetokounmpo. “He wants to shoot the ball. Like, I was 0-for-7 today, but I’m going to keep shooting.”

In Toronto, Kawhi Leonard had 15 of his 31 points in the 3rd quarter to power the Toronto Raptors to a 113-101 victory over the Celtics.

Leonard grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for the Raptors who are undefeated in the new 2018-19 NBA season.

Serge Ibaka had 21 points, while Kyle Lowry had 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Danny Green added 14 points and Fred VanVleet chipped in 11.

Kyrie Irving led the Celtics (1-1) with 21 points in the marquee Eastern Conference contest.

 

Game results

Golden State Warriors def. Utah Jazz, 124-123

Charlotte Hornets def. Orlando Magic, 120-88 

Brooklyn Nets def. New York Knicks, 107-105

Memphis Grizzlies def. Atlanta Hawks, 131-117

Minnesota Timberwolves def. Cleveland Cavaliers, 131-123

New Orleans Pelicans def. Sacramento Kings, 149-129

Toronto Raptors def. Boston Celtics, 113-101

Milwaukee Bucks def. Indiana Pacers, 118-101

Los Angeles Clippers def. Oklahoma City Thunder, 108-92

 

– Rappler.com