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Jerebko nets winning basket in Warriors see-saw win over Jazz
LOS ANGELES, Oct 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Jonas Jerebko executed a clutch tip
in with 0.3 seconds left against his former team to lift the Golden State
Warriors to a 124-123 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday.
Kevin Durant scored 38 points and Stephen Curry tallied 31, while Sweden’s
Jerebko came off the bench to score 10 and the clutch game winner in a wild
contest in front of a crowd of 18,300.
The Jazz built a big lead by scoring 47 points in the second quarter but
Golden State clawed their way back into it with a strong second half, led by
Curry.
The defending NBA champion Warriors are favoured to win their third title
in a row but many wondered how they would do Friday against the Jazz’s
lockdown defence.
Utah was the only team last year to beat Golden State three times.
Journeyman Jerebko, who also played for the Boston Celtics and Detroit
Pistons, joined the Warriors in the offseason after one season in Utah.
On the Warriors’ final possession of the game, Durant attempted a jump shot
from the free-throw line which rattled off the rim but Jerebko was right
there to outmuscle Rudy Gobert for the winning shot.
“He had a little bit of juice and fire coming here to Utah to show up his
old teammates,” said Curry of Jerebko.
Australia’s Joe Inglis led the Jazz with 27 points while Donovan Mitchell,
who was runner-up for rookie of the year last season, scored 19 in the loss.
Mitchell launched a desperation shot at the buzzer but there wasn’t enough
time on the clock to properly execute the catch-and-shoot play.
Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds as
Milwaukee Bucks tried out their new long-range attack in their home opener
Friday to beat the Indiana Pacers 118-101.
Khris Middleton delivered 25 points for the Bucks who attempted a franchise
record 47 shots from beyond the arc.
First year Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said they are trying to be
aggressive and create space for three-point attempts.
“If there’s going to be rotations, there’s going to be helps, there’s going
to be shifts, and there’s opportunities to shoot threes, then we’ll take
those,” he said.
Victor Oladipo scored 25 points and Doug McDermott added 14 for the Pacers
in the loss.
The Bucks stretched their lead to 93-76 at the end of the third quarter
after leading 62-53 at the half.
Milwaukee ranked 25th in the NBA last season with 24.7 three-point attempts
per game. They finished 17 of 47 on Friday, with Antetokounmpo missing all
seven he launched.
Milwaukee drained 14 of 34 three point attempts as they beat Charlotte 113-
112 in their season opener on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo said the long-range assault is part of their game plan now.
“That comes from the coach,” said Antetokounmpo. “He wants to shoot the
ball. Like, I was zero for seven today, but I’m going to keep shooting.”
In Toronto, Kawhi Leonard had 15 of his 31 points in the third quarter to
power the Toronto Raptors to a 113-101 victory over the Celtics.
Leonard grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for the Raptors who are undefeated
in the new 2018-19 NBA season.
Serge Ibaka had 21 points, while Kyle Lowry had 15 points, six assists and
five rebounds. Danny Green added 14 points and Fred VanVleet chipped in 11.
Kyrie Irving led the Celtics (1-1) with 21 points in the marquee Eastern
Conference contest.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1205 hrs