Jazz down 0-3 to Warriors but promise to fight another day


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz gave the Warriors their best shot in Game 3.

But their best shot just wasn’t good enough.

Steph Curry and Kevin Durant scored the final 22 buckets of the 102-91 win that put Golden State up 3-0 and on the verge of a Western Conference semifinal sweep heading into Monday’s potentially decisive Game 4 at 7 p.m. MDT (TNT).

Don’t think the Jazz are ready to quit just yet, though.

“We’ll keep getting better,” Jazz guard Joe Ingles said. “We’re not going to give up. We’ll keep fighting until we’re dead and done. Until then, we’re going to try and get this next one at home.”

What is left for the Jazz to play for?

“We’re going to build around what we’ve done, keep the same attitude and keep competing,” center Rudy Gobert said. “Just believe in ourselves.”

The Jazz have been down before — like in the opening game of the playoffs, after losing Gobert against the L.A. Clippers. Joe Johnson was the game-saver then, and he had some advice to help pick Utah up down the stretch of the current series, too.

“We can’t dwell on it,” Johnson said. “We’re down 3-nothing, so we have to do whatever we can in Game 4 to get a win on our home floor.”

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series, and the odds have overwhelmed teams before.

Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Quin Snyder is making it a point with his team not to look any further than Game 4. He’s encouraged them to remain steadfast in their principles and keep improving — just like they have through the whole series.

“Easier said than done, but I think we’ve seen progress,” Snyder said. “You need a chance to break through or the season is over. If we are able to do that, then you turn your attention to the next game.

“Until we can do that, there is no sense looking forward. Just stay completely present and by doing that, hopefully your focus is on the right things that can help you win the game, as opposed to the potential results if you don’t.”

Improvement includes a lot of bright spots for the Jazz in several key areas of Game 3. They outscored the Warriors 38-34 in the paint and held the fast-paced “Dubs” to just seven points in transition.

They also took care of the basketball better, turning it over just nine times, while holding Curry and Klay Thompson to a combined 7-of-29 shooting.

“You know, we were right there,” Gordon Hayward said. “We had a nine-point lead. We hit a couple more shots, and they don’t get the transitions that they do and we build it up to 12 or 13 — it’s a different ballgame.

“We’ll take some of the things we did well and use them in the next game.”

Getting back a healthy George Hill would be a boost for the Jazz, too. The point guard with a sprained big toe was upgraded to questionable Sunday before Game 4 on Monday night.

“We’ll have to be great in those last five minutes,” Hayward said. “That’s when it counts. We’ve been hot and cold in those situations, but I think defensive we can lock down and be the defensive team that we are.

“Obviously, they are great players and are going to make plays. They made some shots down the stretch. … But we’ve done it before and we can do it against them.”

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Jeremiah Jensen

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