Barber: Warriors' sniping fuels 121-95 win against Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY - Warriors coach Mike Brown called it before Game 4 of his team's Western Conference semifinal series on Monday.

“A lot of time it either goes one of two ways, especially if you're up 3-0,” he said before tipoff at Vivint Smart Home Arena when asked about potential close-out playoff games. “Your opponent can really be desperate. … It can be a dogfight. But then it also can be the other way.”

This one didn't go one of two ways. It alternated between the two. The Warriors sprinted to a huge lead, allowed the desperate Jazz back in the game when the second units took the floor, regrouped to push the lead back to 18 points, then stumbled again as Utah cut the gap to eight points. And that was all in the first half.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter, when the Jazz's shooting went ice cold, that the Warriors pulled away for the 121-95 victory that propelled them to the West finals against To Be Determined.

And what got them there was attitude. Also relentless defense and timely shooting, of course. But this was an attitude game. Two nights earlier, Draymond Green's emotions nearly allowed the Jazz to pull off an upset. This time, the Warriors were back on that razor's edge of emotion.

And hardly any of it was aimed at the Jazz.

In Game 3 here, Golden State's Kevin Durant and Utah's Rudy Gobert had gotten into a little, to use the term that got Curry's attention the night before, kerfuffle. Monday, there was little tension between the two opponents.

So the Warriors applied it elsewhere. They continued a running beef with the Jazz fans. Saturday, Durant had kept up a constant give-and-take with the Utahns and was booed throughout. He continued the conversation in Game 4, but it was Green who took on his usual role of debate captain.

There was one fan who particularly seemed to get under Green's skin, and vice-versa. Every time the suddenly hot-shooting forward connected on a 3-pointer (he did it three times), he'd look at the fan and smirk. Any time he left the floor, he'd laugh and trade barbs with folks behind the bench in Karl Malone jerseys.

That one Jazz fan stood out so much that Warriors general manager Bob Myers walked up a few stairs to snap a photo with him following the game.

Meanwhile, as Green left the floor after Golden State had wrapped up the series and he had paused for a postgame TV interview, he stopped and signed a homemade sign that a young man had made, a placard that kept a running “Draymond Flop Count.” The kid tallied six flops.

All in good fun, right? And it is with this team. As long as it's not too fun.

This season, the Warriors have been vulnerable only when they're bored or mentally worn down. When they are engaged, and more important when they are ticked off, they are dominant. Which is why they have figured out that it's better to manufacture a little anger than to play with none at all.

Monday, they spent more time talking smack to one another than to the Jazz.

With a little over four minutes left in the third quarter, Stephen Curry failed to get out on Utah's Shelvin Mack at the arc, and Mack drilled a 3-pointer to cut the Warriors' lead to 80-73. Durant had been yelling at Curry to get over a screen, and he continued the lecture when Brown called timeout - a one-time NBA most valuable player chirping at a two-time MVP. When Curry got to the bench, he kicked a seat cushion in frustration.

“We don't take ourselves that seriously,” Durant said afterward. “It's basketball. We keep it on the basketball court. When Steph sees something, he tells me. When I see something, I tell him. Same with Draymond, same with Andre (Iguodala), Klay (Thompson). It's nothing personal. We going out there and try to handle business as a group. If we've got something that we need to talk over, we're gonna talk it over. It's not about how we say it. Most of the time it's about the message.”

A couple minutes after that MVP-on-MVP scolding, Curry made a strong drive through traffic to the hoop and was fouled by Gobert. Durant shook his head and had a few choice words for JaVale McGee, who had attempted to tip in the ball after the foul. Durant thought it might have fallen of its own accord, giving Curry a plus-one opportunity.

On some teams, the system breaks down when players start to point out one another's shortcomings so demonstratively. With the Warriors, it seems to be one of their building blocks.

“They can't be afraid to police one another,” Brown said. “And our group does that. When somebody does something wrong, I don't have to say anything half the time, because somebody else is. Whether it's Draymond, KD in that instance, D(avid) West, Andre. We have intelligent players on the team, and they all respect each other. And they all understand what needs to be done out there coverage-wise, offensively, and they're not afraid to say it.”

As Brown pointed out, it's part of the flow of communication that Steve Kerr, the head coach who is sitting out with back pain and headaches, has created here. The same one that Brown, like Luke Walton before him, has been able to continue.

It's a valuable lesson for the rest of the playoffs. The Jazz were no real obstacle for the Warriors. Neither were the Trail Blazers in the first round. It might be a different story against the Rockets, or the Spurs, or the Cavaliers.

When the postseason gets deeper and the competition stiffer, the Warriors' biggest threat will be their own complacency. They should remember nights like this one, when they summoned their inner grumpy old men to start a fire.

“We're grown men,” Durant said. “Sometimes the world's not gonna be as pretty as you want it to be - or as you guys maybe want it to be. It's all about the message, and it's all about the win at the end of the day.”

It definitely was Monday.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.