WARRIORS BEAT BUMBLING JAZZ

The Utah Jazz have seen their stretch run go from bad to worse, and in the process have plummeted from the upper half of the Western Conference standings to their current 8^th place position.  The best news for Utah at this point is that the regular season will end before they can blow their postseason berth altogether.  On Saturday night the Jazz lost for the seventh time in ten games as the undermanned Golden State Warriors used a big second quarter to earn a 118-108 victory in Salt Lake City.

Utah held a three point lead after one quarter, only to see the Warriors outscore them 36-20 in the second.  The Warriors were able to maintain that margin throughout the second half to preserve the victory.  Golden State was paced by point guard CJ Watson, who torched the Jazz defense for a career high 38 points while dishing out 9 assists.  Reserve Rob Kurz also achieved a career high with 21 points, while Kelenna Azubuike (18), Anthony Randolph (13) and Anthony Morrow (11) posted double digit scoring totals.  Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer each posted ‘double/doubles’ for the Jazz—Williams had 26 points and 14 assists, while ‘C-Booz’ had 25 points and 12 boards.  Mehmet Okur added 18 but received scant support from the rest of the lineup with reserve Andrei Kirilenko the only other double digit scorer with 10 points.

Afterwards, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan didn’t make any excuses:

"They had us under control all night. They're a team that takes a lot of outside shots. But we tried to match and we didn't make them and kind of got into a little panic situation."

Point guard Deron Williams was at a loss to explain Utah’s downward spiral into the playoffs:

"This is bad. I just don't know what's going on right now with us. We're just limping into the playoffs. It's like we're kind of content with being there and being the eighth seed instead of trying to better ourselves."

The Jazz still have a shot at getting out of the #8 position and avoiding a first round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, but it won’t be easy.  They’re currently 1 ½ games behind Dallas and New Orleans who are tied for the sixth and seventh position.  Both the Mavs and Hornets have three games remaining, while Utah has two.  In theory, Utah could finish as high as sixth but with the team struggling to win games that has to be viewed as a long shot scenario.

Utah will try to get back on the winning track on Monday when they host the lowly Los Angeles Clippers.  They’ll finish the regular season on Tuesday night at the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers.  Golden State will host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night before concluding their 2008-2009 schedule on the road against the Phoenix Suns.