Early in the season, when the Jazz were perhaps the NBA's(nba championship rings) biggest disappointment, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr remained confident in Utah's ability.

"I'm still really impressed with them," Kerr said when Utah was 14-17 in mid-December. "They're still a tough team to beat."

Kerr should know: In his five seasons leading Golden State(cheap Golden State Warriors championship rings), few teams have given him more trouble than the Jazz. Tuesday night was no exception. In a game that featured seven lead changes and four ties, the Warriors missed 28 3-point tries and were beaten on the glass, only to pull away late for a 115-108 win.

Down 93-88 with 8:41 left, Golden State started putting hands on shooters and cutting off driving lanes. With Utah stagnating, the Warriors spread the floor, mixing between forays to the rim and 3-pointers for a 17-2 run to seize a 10-point cushion with little more than four minutes remaining.

DeMarcus Cousins, who had labored much of the night, came up with a momentum-changing dunk early in that stretch. Three consecutive buckets from Stephen Curry — two 3-pointers and a layup — capped Golden State's surge. It was enough for the Warriors to escape with their 16th win in 17 games and fifth in a row. But even in defeat, the Jazz showed how many issues they could pose in a playoff matchup. With one of the league's savviest head coaches (Quin Snyder), the reigning Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert) and a dynamic young guard (Donovan Mitchell), Utah would make things interesting, even if it's not ready to seriously push Golden State in a seven-game series.

"I thought Utah played a fantastic game," Kerr said. "They played really well and made us work for everything. It was a difficult win." Utah held Golden State to 13-for-41 (31.7 percent) shooting from 3-point range and outrebounded the Warriors 49-40. In the third quarter, the Jazz scored 40 points on 15-for-22 shooting (4-for-5 from 3) to turn a three-point halftime deficit into a three-point lead.



However, even the Jazz have little answer for the Warriors when they're making the extra pass and limiting mistakes. Golden State piled up 29 assists to only six turnovers. Utah hung close longer than most, only to fall victim to the likes of Kevin Durant (28 points, seven assists), Curry (24 points), Klay Thompson (22 points on 9-for-14 shooting) and Andre Iguodala (13 points on 5-for-6 shooting). "We just wore down a little bit and had some breakdowns defensively late when they were able to get too clean of looks," Snyder said. "They are too good to give them good looks."

Tuesday marked the Warriors' final regular-season matchup against the Jazz, which is good news for Golden State.

Last season, the Warriors(championship rings for sale) went 1-3 against Utah, with those three losses coming by a combined 89 points. In its road opener Oct. 19, Golden State gave up 19 3-pointers to the Jazz, only to escape with a one-point win after Jonas Jerebko got the tip-in with three-tenths of a second remaining. In their five-point loss to Utah on Dec. 19, the Warriors were undone by a dearth of ball movement.