Stephen Curry looks to snap out of a shooting slump against an opponent that has given him trouble in the past when the Golden State Warriors host the Utah Jazz on Tuesday in San Francisco.
Curry missed all eight of his second-half shots, finished 4-for-17 and totaled 13 points when the Warriors were beaten 118-108 by the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
Although Curry was selected an All-Star for the 11th time last week, he has recorded four consecutive games with 21 or fewer points. His season average is down to 22.3, which is on pace for his lowest in a full campaign since 2011-12.
Curry has shot just 38.1 percent overall and 32.4 percent from 3-point range over the four contests.
After the loss to the Lakers, Golden State’s third defeat in its past four games, the U.S. Olympic hero denied that a sore right thumb has been the root of his shooting woes.
“It’s not an excuse for anything; you got to play through it,” he said. “It’s just something that’s been lingering to the point it gets hit every once in a while. It’s just one of those things that’s almost gone, then it gets knocked again. I’ll deal with it.”
The Warriors have beaten the Jazz six straight times dating back to December 2022, but Curry often hasn’t been the driving force. He has been held to 16 or fewer points in three of his last six games against Utah, and managed 20 despite 7-for-20 shooting (4-for-13 on 3-point attempts) in a 127-86 win in Salt Lake City on Oct. 25.
Curry’s 23.3 career scoring average against Utah is his fourth lowest among Western Conference opponents. His 41.1 percent accuracy on 3-point shots in 39 games versus the Jazz also ranks fourth against Western foes.
While the Warriors enjoyed Sunday and Monday off, the Jazz were having to deal with the front end of a back-to-back Monday night at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. Utah took its sixth straight defeat, 125-110, despite 19 points apiece from Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton.
The Warriors will get its first look at rookie point guard Isaiah Collier, who missed the October meeting with a hamstring injury.
Collier will be returning to the Golden State, where he played one season at the University of Southern California after the Georgia native had been the consensus No. 1-ranked prep recruit in the nation in 2023.
Collier has started nine of the past 11 games, a stretch in which he has posted 20- and 23-point games and two double-doubles. He had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds Saturday in a loss at Memphis, then produced 12 points and eight rebounds Monday against the Bucks.
Perhaps more important, he and Sexton have been coexisting well after they got into a shouting match in a Utah huddle during a game earlier this month against the Brooklyn Nets.
“That’s what any good team needs,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “If there aren’t moments of tension in a game or in practice, in any relationship, then we don’t care enough. That comes from the fact that both of those guys really deeply care.”
The defensive-minded Collier figures to get his first crack at guarding Curry. The rookie already has made a name for himself at that end of the court, having recorded steals in each of Utah’s past five games, including two against Memphis and a season-high-tying three against Milwaukee.
–Field Level Media
