Friday, May 5, 2017

Draymond Green fuels Warriors' Game 2 win over Jazz


WASHINGTON -- Draymond Green keyed an early surge as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Utah Jazz 115-104 on Thursday to take a 2-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference second-round playoff series.

Green drained five three-pointers en route to 21 points as the Warriors remained unbeaten in six games this post-season.

Kevin Durant added 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Stephen Curry had 23 points and seven assists for Golden State, who raced to an early lead and stifled Utah's attempts to come back.

Gordon Hayward shook off a slow start to score 33 points for Utah, who were without injured point guard George Hill.

Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Jazz before fouling out in the waning seconds.

By then, the Warriors had rebuilt their lead to 12 points after seeing it dwindle to seven with 1:45 to play.

Throughout the contest the Warriors had an answer for every threat from the Jazz -- despite some sloppy defense and 17 turnovers that led to 22 Utah points.

The Warriors' biggest scare came when Green took a hard fall in the fourth quarter, then seemed to slip as he rose and grabbed his left knee.

He eventually returned to the court -- a good sign for the Warriors, who will try to stretch their lead in the best-of-seven series in game three on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

source: news.abs-cbn.com