SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe it was the altitude. Maybe the Warriors were just due for one of those nights. Either way, the team that had won its past nine looked discombobulated all night Wednesday against the Utah Jazz. It didn’t take until the final buzzer to know the streak wouldn’t reach 10. When it mercifully sounded, the final tally was 111-85.
Initially it appeared as though the Warriors would have no problem extending their season-best stretch of basketball to double digits. The Jazz were playing without all-NBA defender Rudy Gobert, as well as key reserve Rudy Gay and hadn’t yet gotten their returns from a trade deadline move earlier in the day. Golden State raced out to a 13-0 lead with everyone but Steph Curry contributing to the scoring column.
But the opening quarter hadn’t even come to a close by the time the early advantage had evaporated. After the 13-0 start, the Jazz outscored the Warriors 111-72. Utah cemented its lead with a 34-9 run that started less than four minutes out of intermission and extended into the fourth quarter.
