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Monday night’s game between the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz was not the highest level of basketball we’ve ever witnessed. The Jazz were playing without stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., while giving limited minutes down the stretch to franchise cornerstones Keyonte George and Kyle Filipowski in what would generously be described as ambivalence towards winning. The Warriors were without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody, Will Richard, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porziņģis. And so, while the game was entertaining, it wasn’t exactly high-level hoops.

More importantly, the Warriors team that shocked the Houston Rockets on Thursday, and kept things close against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, was nowhere to be found on Monday in Salt Lake City, as the Dubs lost 119-116.

Even with Jackson out, the Warriors were at quite a size disadvantage with Horford and Porziņģis sidelined (neither player was at the arena, either, as they flew home in anticipation of playing Tuesday’s home game against the Chicago Bulls). At times, Golden State didn’t seem to be, though. The hung tough with Utah on the glass, nearly playing the Jazz even there, with just a slight 55-53 disadvantage. After settling for threes early, they relentlessly attacked the unprotected late late, and actually outscored Utah 48-46 in the paint.

All of that and still a loss? You’d assume that the Dubs were once again plagued by their turnover woes, but it turns out that wasn’t the case either. The Warriors actually took great care of the basketball, turning the ball over just 10 times on the night, while forcing 17 Jazz giveaways.

So what was it? Much of it was just shooting. The Warriors had the legs of a team on the end of a road trip (which they are), and missing their best shooters. They shot just 30.8% (16-for-52) from three-point range, and while they shot a very respectable 57.4% (27-for-47) on twos, they got stuck in their ways by hoisting too many triples. Utah, on the other hand, shot a much fewer amount at higher clip — 35.3% (12-for-34) — but shot two more shots inside the arc, and eight more free throws.

Still, the teams went back and forth in the first half. They exchanged buckets and leads in the first and second quarter, with Utah outscoring Golden State by two points in each frame. And when the third quarter began, the Warriors came out of the gates firing, with far more energy than their counterparts. They were outworking and outhustling the Jazz.

But, despite Utah’s tanking efforts, the Warriors were simply down too many bodies. Late in the third quarter they found themselves in a situation where all three of their two-way contracts were on the court at the same time. And while all three played well individually, the lack of experience proved costly, and helped lead to the defining stretch of the game. The score was tied 77-77 late in the third, when ageless wonder Kevin Love drained a three. After LJ Cryer missed a shot, Brice Sensabaugh made a transition layup, while drawing a foul and completing the three-point play. Brandin Podziemski missed a three on the ensuing possession, and Love responded with a four-point play. In a span of just 50 seconds, the Jazz had scored 10 unanswered points, and turned a tied game into a 10-point lead.

Golden State had a run in them in the final quarter though, and slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually erasing it entirely. Draymond Green split a pair of free throws with 1:26 remaining, tying the game and giving the feel of a comeback win. But it wasn’t to be. After the teams exchanged empty possessions, Blake Hinson drained a go-ahead three with 30 seconds remaining, serving as a perfect two-for-one for Utah. The Warriors came up empty on their next possession, with Elijah Harkless splitting a pair of free throws to increase the lead to two possessions. De’Anthony Melton would make a three to pull the Warriors within a single point, but it was only with a few seconds left. Harkless made two free throws to make it a three-point game, and with just 1.7 seconds left to inbound and shoot, the Warriors were left to settle for a Gui Santos double-clutch triple, which came up well short.

Melton led the Warriors with 22 points, and added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. He was one of eight Warriors to score in double figures. Also in that group was Seth Curry, who made his return to action in style, scoring 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting (including 2-for-3 from deep), while adding three assists. Santos and Brandin Podziemski led the team with eight rebounds, while Green dished a game-high 11 assists.

It’s a disappointing loss, but there’s no time for the Dubs to mope. They’re back in action Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. PT against the Bulls.

The race for NBA Most Valuable Player is pretty much a wrap.

With his 35-point, 15-assist, 9-rebound masterclass on March 9 against the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder's reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made it all but a certainty that he would be crowned with the award once more.

That it came on the night when he tied Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record for consecutive games (126) with at least 20 points only bolsters his late-season argument. And that he won the game with a silky, step back 3 with just 2.7 seconds left added yet another MVP moment to his highlight reel — something voters tend to weigh with significance.

“Tremendous poise, confidence — he doesn’t change his mindset regardless of the circumstance,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the 129-126 Thunder victory. “He doesn’t break a sweat.”

SGA CALLS GAME.

STEPBACK 3 TO WIN A THRILLER VS. DENVER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/sIrFsI3Ft0

— NBA (@NBA) March 10, 2026

If there’s a paradigm of consistency in the NBA, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander. He appears to glide across the floor, unbothered, to get to his spots. He seems to know exactly what defenses will try to do against him.

And as the Thunder have confronted injuries all season long — they rank second in the NBA in games missed and were without three starters (Jalen William, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein) against the Nuggets — it’s Gilgeous-Alexander who is carrying this team to greatness.

Despite the time missed because of injury, the Thunder are 51-15, which is the best record in the NBA.

Just to show how quickly things change: a little more than two weeks ago, after carrying the Pistons to a massive win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Cade Cunningham had seized momentum on the national stage.

The Warriors failed to replicate the effort from the opening two games of their road trip and will return home with a sour taste in their mouths after a bad loss to the Jazz.

Golden State stunned the Rockets to open its road trip and took the Thunder to the wire on Saturday but fell 119-116 on Monday to a tanking Utah team missing its top players.

Already playing without Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic, the Jazz subbed out their remaining leading scorer, Keyonte George, for good at the end of the third quarter. They sent their high scorer for the game, Brice Sensabaugh (21 points), to the bench for the final 4:48.

Draymond Green missed a free throw that would have put the Warriors up 114-113 with 86 seconds remaining. Eight Warriors scored in double figures, led by De’Anthony Melton with 22 points, but they made just 14 of their 21 attempts from the free-throw line.

Brandin Podziemski also missed a pair of late free throws and finished 0-for-4 at the line. The Warriors’ struggles at the foul line arguably cost them a second consecutive game after they shot just 11-for-18 (61.1%) against the Thunder.

The Jazz got to the foul line 29 times and sank 27 of them. Kyle Filipowski sank all six of his attempts on his way to a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

What it means

The Warriors couldn’t have expected to return home any better than 1-2 when they hit the road without Steph Curry and a handful of their rotation regulars.

It’s not the path anyone expected, but it’s the same result nevertheless.

Still, the Warriors will be kicking themselves for letting this one slip away.

Turning point

Kevin Love pump-faked Malevy Leons into the air and somehow sank a circus-style 3-pointer through contact, then completed the four-point play to open up the first double-digit lead of the game late in the third quarter. The play was part of a 12-1 run that put the Jazz up 89-78.

Believe it or not, Leons got baited into the air by Love again — on the next trip down the floor.

The Warriors had tied it at 77 before the 12-1 run with an incredible display of tenacity from Nate Williams, one of three active two-way players. He collected the Warriors’ fourth offensive rebound of the possession — his second — before finally converting a reverse layup.

The activity on the offensive glass could have been a signal the Warriors were outworking the Jazz. But the three missed shots on one possession turned out to be a stronger harbinger.

MVP: Seth Curry

Kerr pulled a line change and inserted Curry for his first playing time in 40 games along with an entirely new five-man lineup a little more than nine minutes into the first quarter.

Curry, the NBA’s leader in 3-point percentage last season, set up in the corner, received a pass from Podziemski and promptly drained a triple on his first possession.

Curry showcased the rest of his offensive profile to finish with 13 points in 12 minutes on 4-of-6 shooting, fitting in as seamlessly as he did when he made his debut Dec. 2. He suited up again two nights later and then missed the next four months, largely due to sciatica.

Stat of the game: 36 missed 3-pointers

The Jazz already ranked as the NBA’s worst defensive team inside the perimeter and the second-most foul prone. They were missing their three best players 6-foot-11 or taller.

The Warriors still attempted 52 3-pointers and only converted 16 of them (30.2%).

Up next

The Warriors will have a quick turnaround after a late-night arrival back in San Francisco, playing host to the Bulls on Tuesday night at Chase Center. Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis are both expected to return after they flew home early rather than join the team in Utah.

The back-to-back set is the first of three over the next 13 days for Golden State.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to an easy 115-101 win over a shorthandedPhiladelphia 76ers team.

“The beauty of it is we got another one tomorrow,” is how James Harden ended his media scrum after Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Boston Celtics. The Cavs didn’t make up for that performance, but this was a good response.

Like Sunday, the Cavs started the game unable to buy a three-point shot. They made just one of their first 10 attempts, but this time, they didn’t bury themselves in the process. They found ways to still get to the basket and the free-throw line. Instead of a 10-point quarter, they mustered 26.

And when they actually started hitting their outside shots in the second quarter, they broke the game wide open.

The Cavs don’t have many tough opponents left on their schedule; they do, however, need to figure out who’s in their rotation for the playoffs. That’s what a game like this was for.

“I told the guys in there, this is going to be a fight to be in the playoff rotation,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame. “We got so many good players. We’re deep. Who’s going to be a star in his role?”

Role players not coming through against Boston is one of the things that did them in. Keon Ellis was one of the players who struggled. He didn’t score in 24 minutes and finished the game with a plus/minus of -15.

Ellis responded well on Monday, scoring 19 points on 5-9 shoooting which included going 4-7 from three. He showed that he can make an impact offensively, which is what he’ll need to continue doing if he’s going to get substantial playoff minutes.

The three-point shot is going to be the swing skill for Ellis. If he’s making that, they can always find room for him on the court. But there are other ways he can influence the game on that end.

“We’re just discovering his offensive capabilities,” Atkinson said. “I saw a couple of things that I haven’t seen him do yet. Come off a DHO (dribble-hand-off), get in the lane, shoot the flooter. I didn’t even know he had that.”

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Harden scored his 29,000th career point. That’s a remarkable accomplishment, even though less than 0.1% of his points have come in a Cavalier uniform. It speaks to his incredible longevity and how he’s been able to continually reinvent his game in a league that has evolved drastically since he entered it 17 years ago.

“[It’s a ] testament to his resiliency,” Atkinson said. “It’s so hard in this league to do it for so long, so consistently. This version we’re seeing of James…[is a] complete player and playmaker. And what he’s given us so far is everything we need to win.”

A good portion of those 29,017 career points came out of the pick-and-roll. Harden has been able to develop instant pick-and-roll chemistry with nearly every big he’s played with.

Atkinson credits this to Harden being in the 99th percentile in decision-making. He simply always makes the right play.

“He knows where the defense is in (on the pick-and-roll), he knows how to kick it out,” Atkinson said on Sunday. “When they’re out, he throws the lob. He knows the timing. And that’s rare in my experience to be around a player who’s almost perfect in terms of his decision-making.”

Evan Mobley may be the exception to this general rule for Harden. The duo hasn’t been able to replicate the success Harden has had with Jarrett Allen. That comes down to how both Mobley and Harden operate in the pick-and-roll.

Mobley neither sets hard screens nor rolls hard. More often than not, he slips the screen before there’s real contact and then floats in the midrange and tries to find an angle to receive a dump off. That can work in some contexts — and has mostly paired well with an explosive downhill attacker like Donovan Mitchell — but it hasn’t with Harden.

Harden will always make the right play. But there isn’t a right play to come from this, given how deliberate Harden is in these actions. By the time he’s ready to take advantage of the opening, the defense has already recovered, nullifying the screen entirely.

This is why the starting offense has felt so static at times the last two games with Allen sidelined. Harden has still initiated the offense with the pick-and-roll with the big, but it hasn’t gone anywhere. Instead of getting things going to the basket and reacting from there, they end up wasting four or five seconds trying to set it up, and then have to resort to something different.

This issue isn’t that Mobley doesn’t know what he needs to do as the big with Harden, it’s just not his game.

Mobley talked at practice on Saturday about needing to set harder screens and roll harder. It’s not that he hasn’t tried. He just hasn’t been effective in doing so.

This play is a good example of that. Mobley tries to set a solid screen on Harden’s defender, but doesn’t create much separation. He compounds this by not rolling to the basket as hard as he needs to, which led to Mobley getting cut off in the restricted area.

Mobley is never going to be a physically imposing screener like Ivica Zubac. That isn’t changing overnight. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make this duo more effective.

“Evan is not used to rolling all the time,” Atkinson said. “I saw them talking tonight about screening angles. I think James can help him be better on the roll.”

This is an example of how Harden can do so.

Instead of being deliberate in waiting for the screen to materialize — like he did in the first example — Harden is more aggressive about getting around the screen quicker. This helps the contact that Mobley makes to be effective enough to get the defender on Harden’s back hip. And once that happens, there’s a mismatch he can use to generate open looks.

Even though Mobley isn’t the prototypical Harden pick-and-roll partner, there are still ways to make it work.

“I’ve talked to James about that,” Atkinson said. “Just getting those two together and talking to Evan about how he wants the screen angle, when he wants him to slip out, when he wants him to hold. And with Evan, he can mix in the pop (three-point shot) too.”

It can be easy to focus on what Mobley doesn’t do well, and understandably so. The flaws in his game, like this, can be quite clear. But that shouldn’t overshadow what he does well.

Mobley is a gifted scorer who’s continually added elements to his offensive game. He’s a more well-rounded offensive weapon than most bigs Harden has had success with. There’s something there that Harden can work with. They just need time to figure it out.

“I want them to get together and work on it more,” Atkinson said. “I think that could be a really lethal combination.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Frank Nazar scored a power-play goal with 2:24 left in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Monday night.

Andrew Mangiapane scored his first goal as a Blackhawk since being acquired in a trade from Edmonton last week, and Andre Burakovsky lifted the puck on his stick lacrosse style and flicked it into the net to tie the game at 2-2 late in the second period. It was his first goal since Jan. 7, a span of 19 games.

Drew Commesso, making his third start of the season and first since Jan. 10 when he had his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over Nashville, made 22 saves. Connor Bedard had two assists for Chicago, including one on Nazar's winner.

Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther scored for Utah, which is battling for a wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference and had won the first three games of a five-game road trip. Vitek Vanecek had 23 saves.

Guenther has now scored a team-leading 30 goals this season, the first time in his career he has reached that mark. He has scored in three of four games on the road trip, with six points in those contests (3 goals, 3 assists).

Chicago, which had lost three in a row including a 4-3 setback to Dallas on Sunday night, has now won all three meetings with Utah this season, with the teams' fourth and final game of the season scheduled for Thursday night.

Chicago played without Spencer Knight (illness) and Oliver Moore, who left Sunday’s game in first period.

Up next

Mammoth: Visit the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

Blackhawks: Visit the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Draymond Green bodied Kawhi Leonard. He kept up with Kevin Durant. Chased Shae Gilgous-Alexander.

The former Defensive Player of the Year’s past three assignments have been a “badge of honor,” he told reporters Saturday, three days after his 36th birthday.  

On the heels of a month where, statistically and anecdotally, he was one of the Warriors’ most detrimental players, Green’s latest challenge also shows that doesn’t have to be the case. He is not the same player he once was — but he doesn’t have to be.

“The last few games, if you think about it …  (Green) guarded three of the hardest guys on earth,” coach Steve Kerr said. “And has done a phenomenal job.”

Kerr has talked openly about what a trying year it has been for Green, who has had to come to terms with not only the diminished role and performance that accompanies aging, but to do so without the help of Jimmy Butler and, more recently, Steph Curry.

It has increasingly been in the Warriors’ best interest for Green to take a backseat — or a seat on the bench — particularly when he can’t wingman for Curry. Over the course of February, which Curry missed entirely with knee inflammation, Green accumulated a negative-89 plus-minus in 210 minutes, worst among Golden State’s roster by more than 30 points.

Green’s defensive acumen never dimmed. And now it’s being featured in a different way.

“Give Draymond the toughest task and have a big guy behind him,” Kerr said. “It’s a good formula.”

Green has always been a difference-maker defensively, but he would typically act as more of an air-traffic controller, directing the defense from down low. That set-up had its shortcomings, asking the 6-foot-5 Green to play center more often than Kerr was comfortable.

Small-ball five was never Green’s favorite assignment, either. It was born out of necessity. Besides Kevon Looney (6-foot-8), it’s been a while since the Warriors had a big guy they could put behind Green.

That’s no longer the case with Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, at least when either one is healthy enough to play. They give Golden State size it hasn’t had since Andrew Bogut.

They could also help prolong Green’s career, as evidenced by the past three games.

Freeing up Green to take on the opponent’s top scorer accomplishes two things: 1) It reduces the size disadvantage and the physical toll that comes with it, and 2) allows the Warriors to minimize Green’s minutes while maximizing their value.

Look at Green’s substitution pattern the past three games. With little exception, whenever Leonard, Durant or Gilgous-Alexander checked in, so did Green; when they checked out, Green headed to the bench. His responsibility was singular.

Green was still a game-worst minus-18 against the Clippers, but he outmatched Leonard in the first half before the Warriors fell apart in a team effort. He was a plus-12 in their improbable win against Durant and the Rockets, and he was an even zero in a seven-point loss to the Thunder.

“I am a very prideful person. I just can’t go out there and get murdered,” Green said after their close loss in Oklahoma City. “It’s gonna happen when you’re playing against great players like that. At the same time, for me, I just can’t go lay down.”

Without Curry, Green serves little purpose offensively. The ball is in his hands less and he isn’t enough of a 3-point threat — 32.4% this season — to give the Warriors the spacing they need.

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But he remains a lockdown defender. Time and time again, he denied his matchup from getting the ball, though the seal did break eventually (Leonard and Durant for 23 points, SGA 27).

A common critique of Green throughout his career has been that, without Curry, he plays less inspired (or not at all). Pitting him against primetime assignments alleviates any concern of that.

“I think our coaching staff has figured out I have a lot more energy when I got that kind of assignment,” Green said. “I’m 36 years old. Three games straight. That’s a badge of honor. So I get excited as hell because it’s a challenge.”

And a new one. Whereas playing an undersized center required Green to set the defense, serve as the last line of help defense and out-rebound a bigger man, shadowing three of the top scorers in the NBA — with three entirely unique playing styles — is a different challenge.

“The moment you relax you lose,” he said. “Because if you’re a step behind, now they have the advantage. And you don’t make up advantages.

“If you try to make up a disadvantage that Shae’s created for you, you’re gonna foul. If you try to make up the disadvantage that KD creates, you just can’t – you dead. He’s gonna raise up and there’s nothing you can do about it. Same with Kawhi.”

Those guys will get theirs at the end of the day — it’s gonna happen — just as Gilgous-Alexander did with 44 seconds left to seal the game Saturday. He crossed over and stepped back in front of Green before draining the decisive 3-pointer.

“I’m disgusted I gave up that 3 at the end. It was too much rhythm. I should’ve pressed up more. I’m beating myself up about that,” Green said. “But to draw those responsibilities at this point in my career is amazing.”

The Lakers (39-25) look to keep their winning ways going against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves (40-24) on Tuesday. This is the final match between the two teams this season, as L.A. looks to sweep the regular season series.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

When: 8 p.m. PT, Mar 10

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: NBC, Spectrum Sportsnet

With less than five weeks until the regular season concludes, the standings race, especially in the competitive Western Conference, will heat up. The Lakers have won five of their last six games and are sitting in the fifth seed. Their next opponent? The current third seed in the same conference.

The Timberwolves will be a good test for this Lakers team as they’ve been playing well as of late. They’ve won eight out of their last 10 games led by Anthony Edwards, who is currently averaging 29.6 points per game. Edwards has also been getting consistent help from Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert. Overall, the Wolves average 118.6 points per game (fifth-best in the league) and rank in the top 10 offensively and defensively.

The Lakers can absolutely go toe-to-toe with the Wolves, especially on offense. Luka Dončić — who is in a very good groove right now, scoring-wise — will definitely be able to match Edwards’ production. The biggest X-factor in this one will be whose supporting cast will outplay the other. Austin Reaves, in particular, has played well in the two games between the Lakers and Wolves in this one.

Speaking of those two games — which both happened in October — the Lakers didn’t have LeBron James in any of those either, so by default, they already know what to expect. There’s also no doubt that the Wolves are much better this time around compared to October and have the same goal as the Lakers, which is to stay in a decent position in the standings. There’s a good chance that this is going to be a thriller.

That said, it’ll be interesting to see if Los Angeles attempts to win this one similarly to how they did in their last two games against Minnesota by attacking the paint and limiting Rudy Gobert’s presence. Hopefully that will be the case and the Lakers’ win the possession battle as well as control the pace as they have over their last two games.

Let’s see if the Lakers can make a statement and improve their chances of climbing up the Western Conference standings in a massive game against the Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Notes and Updates

• Only LeBron James (right hip contusion and left foot arthritis) is written on the report.
• As for the Wolves, Kyle Anderson (right knee soreness) is questionable.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.