Oakland, CA – Mo Williams scored 25 points and the Utah Jazz held on late for a 97-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on Sunday.
Williams was 11-for-19 from the field and the Jazz received double-doubles from Al Jefferson and Derrick Favors to post their seventh win in eight games.
With the victory, Utah vaulted itself into the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference and holds a one-half game lead over the Lakers, who lost to the Clippers earlier on Sunday. Jefferson posted 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Favors added 12 points and 13 boards.
"I can't say enough about this group of guys," Jazz coach Ty Corbin said. "This was all about them and them wanting it, and the way they came out. Although we made some mistakes in the game, everybody laid everything they had in them out there on the floor."
The Warriors could have clinched their first playoff berth since the 2006-07 season with a win, but their late comeback attempt fell short. Stephen Curry scored 22, Klay Thompson had 20 and David Lee finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in defeat.
"We still control our own situation, which is good, but you don't want to have this feeling again," Curry said. "We've got to get it done and there's no excuse for us not to."
The Jazz looked like they would cruise to victory after Gordon Hayward's triple created an 11-point cushion with 4:20 remaining, but the Warriors continued to fight.
Thompson and Curry went back-to-back from long distance and a layup from Draymond Green made it a three-point game with 2:35 left. They remained behind by that same margin after a missed shot from Jefferson with a minute left, but Green and Jack each missed shot attempts on the ensuing possession.
Williams then buried a deep 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to all but seal the victory.
Earlier, a 3-pointer from Curry had the Warriors ahead 38-29 with eight minutes to play in the second, but the Jazz roared back with a 27-10 push to close out the half.
Hayward tied the contest at 41-41 with a dunk, then added a 3-pointer just over a minute later to create a four-point edge for Utah. Randy Foye and Williams each connected on a 3-pointer in the final minute and the Jazz took a 56-48 lead into the break.
Golden State trimmed its deficit down to one with just under five minutes left in the third, but couldn't get the lead back and never came closer the rest of the way. Jefferson scored seven during an ensuing 10-1 run and Utah took a 77-69 lead into the fourth.
Game Notes
Utah captured the season series, 2-1 ... The Jazz improved to 12-27 on the road ... Golden State lost for just the 12th time at home ... The Warriors are now just up by one game over idle Houston for the sixth spot in the West ... Both teams are in action again on Tuesday, with Utah hosting Oklahoma City and Golden State playing at home against Minnesota.
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