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SALT LAKE CITY - Basketball is a game of momentum and runs and the Jazz needed both to stay in the playoff hunt.
There were two defining runs for the Jazz in their 104-98 victory over the Warriors, one got the Jazz back in the game and the other put them ahead for the game. The first came with 6:50 left in the second quarter. The other happened at the beginning of the fourth.
In the second quarter the Jazz were reeling from a 16-2 run that started with a second left in the first quarter. The Jazz went into the break up by one, but by the time the Warriors' run ended they were looking at a 43-30 deficit.
"They went to the zone and the zone throws you off and it throws your rhythm off," said head coach Tyrone Corbin. "We had to make sure we were able to get some movement. The zone will lull you in, and that's why when we had Enes and Derrick in there and the young guys with Alec they have a tendency to stand against the zone."
Golden State went to the zone defense and they held the Jazz to two points until Al Jefferson and Gordon Hayward checked back in.
"The veteran group of guys did a better job of moving the ball and moving their body and were able to get some action." Corbin said.
After scoring two points in the first five minutes of the second quarter the Jazz scored 25 the final seven to enter halftime tied at 55. Jefferson produced 11 of his 30 points in that stretch.
Two Jazz players had different reasons why they were able to make a push at the end of the quarter. Devin Harris attributed it to the "flow of the game." The basic idea that runs happen, Hayward brought up another idea.
"Things were just clicking," Hayward said. "We were able to get more stops. Anytime we are able to get stops like that our offense just gets rolling."
The second run was an 8-0 run executed by Harris as part of his season-high 28 points. The Warriors were up by two going into the fourth and were in the zone again when Devin Harris hit back-to-back 3-pointers and slashing layup that put the Jazz up six.
Harris ended the night 5-8 from beyond the arc while spending a lot of time playing shooting guard with either Earl Watson or Jamaal Tinsley playing point. Harris talked about finding his shot at the previous night's charity event where he was shooting in a suit and sneakers. This carried over to visible difference for at least one teammate.
"I saw it right before the game," Hayward said. "We do a shooting drill against each other and he didn't miss, not one time. I knew it was going to be a big night."
Harris gave the Jazz the lead and broke the Warriors out of the zone where the Jazz big men were able to close the game to keep the Jazz in the hunt for a playoff spot.
