1:02 a.m. ET
Kendra Andrews ESPN
SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors have been coy about how closely they’ve been watching the Western Conference rankings. Some have admitted to monitoring them. Others have said they are an afterthought.
But en route to Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz, there wasn’t a person in the Golden State locker room who wasn’t aware of the impact of the game.
A win would allow the Warriors to sit in third place, a game clear of the Dallas Mavericks. It would also give them the tiebreaker against the Jazz and ensure they would have a top-five finish in the West if the two ended the regular season with the same record.
“Oh yeah, [we were] well aware,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “We haven’t talked about it much as a team, but the boys know. … I told the coaching staff and Steph [Curry] said it to some of the guys.”
The Warriors beat the Jazz 111-107, earning a playoff berth and positioning themselves well for potentially home field advantage in the first round of the postseason. It was only the second win in the past nine games.
After their loss to the Phoenix Suns two nights ago, the Warriors felt they finally had something positive to build on. Against the Suns, their defense – once ranked No. 1 in the league – resurfaced, and on offense they looked connected and cohesive. The problem was that they couldn’t close.
Against the jazz, it was all about how they closed.
After the Warriors cut the Jazz’s lead to single digits in the final minutes of the third quarter, Utah made a quick surge early in the fourth quarter to move up to 16. With 6:58 left, Klay Thompson hit a 3-pointer and the jazz called timeout.
At this point the game changed, prompted by a pep talk from Draymond Green.
“He just brought a lot of energy. He gave the guys motivation and built us up, especially at a moment like this,” said Jordan Poole. “What he says projects onto the entire team. We could simply take this momentum with us.”
After the timeout, Andrew Wiggins did a 28-foot pull-up jumper. Thirty seconds later, Thompson hit a 3. On the next possession, he hit another. The Warriors went from 16 down to just four in 80 seconds and went on an 18-0 run for the first lead of the game.
“What an accomplishment,” Kerr said. “I was amazed by the skills of Klay and Jordan. The emotion and passion of Draymond and the methodical defense and energy of Andrew and Otto [Porter Jr.] An incredible performance from our guys all the way.”
Poole finished his 16th straight game with at least 20 points with 31 points while Thompson led the Warriors with 36 points.
In Thompson’s case, it was a breakthrough night after struggling in recent games. The Warriors attribute his recent troubles to him forcing his shot and trying too hard to find a rhythm.
“We’ve seen it a million times: if Klay just sees the ball go through the hoop a couple of times, he can do the bad ones, too,” Kerr said. “I didn’t think that was a dramatic improvement in terms of shot selection, but I think the fact that that shot was there in mid-range… that allowed him to get into a rhythm and then he started to do the impossible.”
Thompson added, “I know I can just flip a switch like that. I knew this year was going to have its ups and downs and I told myself yesterday it’s a game and I’m going to move on. I told Kenny Atkinson that I wanted to have a big night tonight, and it bore fruit. I’m glad it turned out that way.”
The Warriors’ offensive show in the fourth quarter was only helped by the fact that Utah continued to defend in drop coverage, with Rudy Gobert definitely staying in color and giving the Warriors wide-open looks.
But unlike other games where the Warriors missed those open shots, this time they hit them. Instead of being careless, they performed.
Poole said every game matters at this point in the season. But there was no denying that everyone in the Warriors dressing room knew this one had an added advantage and they weren’t about to let it slip.
That’s what Green told the team during the timeout in the middle of the fourth and led the Warriors to their late-game upswing.
“That was a crucial part of the game,” said Poole. “That was the moment when we had to win the game.”