NBA

Jordan Poole scores 20 points in Warriors win over Jazz, drops Jordan Clarkson with flashy ankle-breaker

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Jordan Poole

Jordan Poole put on a show at Chase Center to help the Golden State Warriors hold off the Utah Jazz for a 94-92 win.

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Poole was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Klay Thompson, who was a late scratch due to soreness in his left knee and he didn't disappoint, pouring in a team-high 20 points, three rebounds and two assists on 7-of-13 shooting and 4-of-7 from the 3-point line. 

With four minutes remaining in the second quarter, he had the home crowd hyped, hitting Jordan Clarkson with a slick in-and-out dribble, that sent the Jazz guard to the floor before Poole coolly drained the 3-pointer. 

The Warriors bench went crazy after Poole pulled off the move, pretending to wipe up the court as they hyped up the 22-year-old guard.

Poole's performance came at the right time, on a night where Steph Curry struggled to get going, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-20 shooting and 1-of-13 from deep. Six Warriors in total finished in double figures on the night as they moved back to within 3.0 games of the No.1 seed Phoenix Suns at the top of the Western Conference. 

The Warriors held on for the win, despite scoring just 11 points in the fourth quarter, getting it done on the defensive end as they held the Jazz to 17 points on 38.3 percent shooting. The Jazz had a chance to win it, with Bojan Bogdanovic missing a 3-pointer in the final seconds and Royce O’Neale's tip-in was off at the buzzer. 

“That’s how you’ve got to win when you’re scuffling a little bit,” Warriors head coach Kerr said postgame. “Really proud of the team.”

Golden State will look to make it three wins in a row when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, Jan. 25 on TNT.

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Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.