No Stephen Curry, no problem: Warriors rough up Jazz

Klay Thompson scored 25 of his game-high 32 points in the first half, Jonathan Kuminga recorded a double-double, and the Golden State Warriors took care of business with a 118-110 victory over the Utah Jazz in San Francisco on Sunday, April 7 (Monday, April 8, Manila time).

Hitting 9 of his 11 shots from the field, Kuminga finished with 21 points and a game-high 10 rebounds after missing the past six games with bilateral knee tendonitis. Rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis chipped in with 16 points apiece for Golden State (43-35), which won for the seventh time in its past eight games.

The Warriors played without star Stephen Curry (rest).

Johnny Juzang poured in a career-best 27 points for Utah (29-49), which lost its 12th straight.

Thompson’s first-half explosion featured 5-for-9 shooting from deep as Golden State led by as many as 23 before the break en route to a 68-54 advantage at intermission.

The Jazz never got within single digits in the second half until they scored the game’s final 7 points in the last 72 seconds.

Thompson finished 12-for-23 overall and 6-for-13 on three-pointers, helping the Warriors shoot 53.3% from the floor and 14-for-35 (40%) from beyond the arc.

Golden State also sat Andrew Wiggins (left ankle) for a second straight game as it gears up for a showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, one with major Western Conference play-in implications.

Podziemski complemented his 16 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists, while Jackson-Davis also collected 7 rebounds and had 4 blocks. Chris Paul had a game-high 9 assists, 12 points, and 4 steals in Curry’s starting spot.

Juzang, a second-year pro who had never scored more than 19 points in a game in his NBA career, had 22 in the first half alone. He finished 7-for-8 on three-pointers as Utah outscored the hosts 45-42 from deep.

Keyonte George backed Juzang with 25 points, while Collin Sexton had 15 to go with a team-high 7 assists. – Rappler.com