SALT LAKE CITY — The Warriors returned to Utah for the first time since assistant coach Dejan Milojevic’s death, having to cope with the troubling memories Salt Lake City now brings.
They came without their head coach, Steve Kerr, and a handful from the front office who flew to Milojevic’s homeland Serbia on Friday morning for their friend’s memorial while the team went back to the scene of the tragedy. With interim head coach Kenny Atkinson at the helm, the Warriors left with a 129-107 win over the Utah Jazz for their fifth straight win on Monday night.
Klay Thompson, who has been up-and-down of late, had one of his better games, scoring 26 points shooting 11-for-19 from the field primarily in the mid-range with a cold shot from 3. Steph Curry scored 15 points on the fourth quarter, all on 3s, to put the game away.
Draymond Green played in foul trouble for most of the game, but managed 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists along with a buzzer-beating half-court shot at the half. Andrew Wiggins was a team-high plus-31 with 17 points.
The Warriors head back home to play the hot Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. Before the All-Star break begins, the Warriors head back out to Salt Lake City to play a makeup game against the Jazz previously postponed in the wake of Milojevic’s death last month.