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Warriors outlast Jazz in tough win, move to 19-0

Eric Freeman

It would have been very easy for the Golden State Warriors to drop their first game of the season in Monday's visit to the Utah Jazz. The slow-paced Jazz controlled tempo and generally played the style they prefer, trailing by double digits for all of 14 seconds on the night. No team has played the Warriors so consistently well over their record-breaking start to the season, and the Jazz had a chance to win late.

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It says something about Golden State that the defending champions were able to withstand that fine effort to improve their record to 19-0. The Warriors topped the Jazz 106-103 at Vivint Smart Home Arena behind a resilient showing that featured key bench contributions and a few new wrinkles with wing Harrison Barnes sidelined due to an ankle injury. The Jazz provided a sort of blueprint for beating them, but it still wasn't enough to get the job done.

Utah may have pulled it off if not for a big shot by — who else? — Stephen Curry. Tied at 101-101 entering the final minute of regulation, Curry nailed a stepback three with 51 seconds on the clock for what ended up being the winning bucket. He's done it many times before, but this one is worth another look:

This was not one of Curry's best nights — he finished with a merely good 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting (4-of-8 from deep) with five assists, six boards, and two steals — but a big shot like this one proves just how dangerous he is.

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Nevertheless, the Jazz still had a chance to win in the closing seconds. A nice finish from Rodney Hood and a missed three by Curry gave Utah the ball with 16 seconds remaining and a mere one-point deficit. The ball ended up in Hood's hands again for what would have been the go-ahead three, but his miss ended up in the hands of Draymond Green for a huge rebound:

Curry nailed both free throws at the other end and Gordon Hayward (24 points on 9-of-19 FG) could only muster a desperation heave. The victory coupled with the San Antonio Spurs' loss to the Chicago Bulls to open up a 4 1/2-game lead for the top spot in the West, a massive gap given that San Antonio would own the top record in the East through Monday's games.

The win over Utah was impressive in part because Golden State had to succeed in crunch time without the services of their revered and feared small lineup featuring Draymond Green at center. With Barnes out for at least three games due to a sprained ankle, interim head coach Luke Walton (who could get all these wins credited to his name) opted not to slot in another perimeter-oriented player like Shaun Livingston and instead played center Festus Ezeli as a more traditional interior presence. It's not clear if Walton will go to this lineup again or simply wanted to leave his team with at least one big man to counter Utah's Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, but the move deserves attention either way. It could be a factor in the Warriors staying undefeated as they continue this seven-game road trip on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets.

The loss drops the Jazz to 8-8 and seventh place in the conference, but few fans and viewers would come away from this contest with a diminished opinion of their quality. The Warriors shot well from deep (14-of-29) and have faced deeper deficits over the early days of this season, but no team has forced them out of their comfort zone as often as the Jazz did on Monday. That's a credit to the team's confidence in its identity as a bruising, interior-focused team at a time when that approach has often been called outdated. Frankly, it's possible to argue that the Jazz were the better team in this one and would have won if not for a torrid shooting streak for end-of-bench shooter Ian Clark (4-of-5 on threes in six minutes) and Shaun Livington's first three as a Warrior.

At the same time, those contributions are part of what makes the Warriors so special. It's difficult to predict their first loss because they offer more potential paths to victory than any team in recent memory.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!