What we learned as Warriors’ emotional day ends with collapse vs. Jazz originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
With their roster shredded and their emotions scattered like leaves in the wind, the Warriors responded with a gritty performance that had a thoroughly unsatisfying ending.
After the Warriors took an 11-point lead on a pair of free throws by Draymond Green with three minutes remaining, the Utah Jazz closed with a 20-6 run to send Golden State to a 131-128 loss Wednesday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Stephen Curry scored a team-high 32 points – his first game in three weeks with at least 30 points – and Brandin Podziemski poured in a career-high 29 to anchor Golden State’s offense.
This hurts not only with the way it finished, but because it sends the Warriors (25-25) back to .500.
They will, however, have a different look over the final 32 games. They acquired disgruntled Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler shortly before tipoff, with Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters III all headed to new franchises.
Here are three observations from a night when the Warriors had 10 players available as they prepare to step into a new dimension:
The Missing Men
A little more than an hour before tipoff, the Warriors were rocked with the news of a significant roster upheaval.
Wiggins, Schröder, Anderson and Waters were preparing to play when coach Steve Kerr summoned the team into the locker room in announce all four would be leaving the franchise.
Butler came to Golden State as part of a four-team trade that sent Wiggins and Anderson to the Miami Heat, Schröder to the Jazz and Waters to the Detroit Pistons. The Warriors gave up a protected first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Of the Warriors’ 10 available players, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, Gui Santos, Pat Spencer and recent two-way signee Jackson Rowe came off the bench.
Podziemski Comes to Play
Podziemski made his first start since Dec. 6 and continued his stellar play since returning from injury two weeks ago.
When the Warriors fell into a 14-point hole in the first eight minutes, Podziemski was instrumental in a 13-2 run that allowed them to close the first quarter trailing 28-25. He either scored or assisted on 11 of the 13 points.
Podziemski finished with 29 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field, including 3 of 10 from beyond the arc and 10 of 13 from the line. He added six rebounds and four assists.
The second-year guard has scored in double figures in six of seven games since returning last month.
Revamped Bench Mob Comes Through
Golden State’s five-man bench did more than what reasonably could have been expected, with all five finishing with plus/minus totals in the positive.
They combined for 32 points, on 12-of-21 shooting, including 4 of 6 from deep. Payton scoring nine to lead the pack, and Looney snagged a team-high 10 rebounds in 23 minutes. Payton was plus-6 and Looney was plus-10.
While Santos submitted a plus-11 and Spencer finished plus-5, it was Rowe, making his NBA debut, who stood out.
The 6-foot-7 forward who has spent five years shuttling among rosters overseas and in the G League, played 14 minutes and totaled six points (on 2-of-3 shooting from distance), five rebounds and one steal. He finished with game-best plus-17.
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