remained in the fourth quarter against the Utah

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Just about everything had gone as planned for the Golden State Warriors at home this season until 11:26 remained in the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. Backup centre Jermaine ONeal slipped along the baseline, spraining his right knee and straining his right groin. The announced sellout crowd of 19,596 hushed, and players and coaches huddled over ONeal before he was helped off the court. It was far more drama than the Warriors wanted against the NBAs worst team. Just as they have in the four previous games at home, though, they responded. Klay Thompson led the way with 25 points, and five others scored in double digits in an all-around effort that helped the Warriors hold off the Jazz 102-88 for their third straight victory -- though perhaps its costliest one. "Jermaine means a lot to this basketball team. He has a voice in the locker room, and we had to regroup," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Its never fun or easy looking at a teammate go down like that. So we pray that everythings fine with him. At the end of the day, we have to have guys that step up and be ready." ONeal will have additional tests on Sunday. The Warriors play at Utah on Monday night, when they hope to duplicate a performance in which they never trailed. Stephen Curry had 15 points and 11 assists, Andrew Bogut added 12 points and 11 rebounds, David Lee scored 13 and Harrison Barnes chipped in 11 points as the Warriors went ahead by 19 late in the second quarter. The Jazz came back within seven in the third quarter before Golden State pulled away by 20 late in the fourth. "Its beautiful to watch when we play like that," Thompson said. Derrick Favours finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Gordon Hayward and Marvin Williams each scored 14 for the Jazz, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10. "When you get down, especially to a team like Golden State that can score very quickly, you put yourself in a tough position," said Williams, who wore a facemask to protect his broken nose before tossing it aside in the second quarter. Golden State (7-3) has taken advantage of a favourable home schedule so far this season. The Warriors are 5-0 at Oracle Arena, with all five opponents playing the night before. Utah lost 91-82 to San Antonio on Friday night in Salt Lake City. Jackson cautioned his team not to take the Jazz lightly. With the same formula of swarming defence and sharp shooting that has carried the club since its surprising playoff run last spring, Golden State seemed to quickly turn the contest into a predictable rout. The Warriors held leads of 27-13 after the first quarter and 51-34 at halftime, with Thompson and Iguodala each making three 3-pointers before the break. The defensive intensity stalled in the third quarter, though, and the nothing-to-lose Jazz capitalized. Haywards 3-pointer brought Utah within 61-54 with 5:37 remaining in the third. The teams traded baskets before Golden State slowly reasserted itself. The Warriors outshot the Jazz 51.2 to 45.5 per cent and outrebounded them 42 to 32 in a game that had far more drama than they preferred. "So far weve quote-unquote beaten the teams that were supposed to beat and weve won games at home," Lee said. "Now we need to go on the road and do the same thing against a Jazz team thats going to come back and want revenge." The only damper during the home stand was ONeals injury. ONeal, who has battled numerous knee injuries -- the most serious to his left knee -- during his 17-year NBA career, was unable to put pressure on his right leg while being helped to the locker room by teammates Draymond Green and Ognjen Kuzmic. Kuzmic, a 7-foot rookie from Bosnia and Herzegovina, will likely be counted on more if ONeal misses any significant time. The Warriors also could play power forwards Marreese Speights and Lee at centre in a smaller lineup. The injury is compounded because fellow backup centre Festus Ezeli, who appeared in 78 games (41 starts) as a rookie last season, is working back from right knee surgery. He will likely be out until at least February. For the Jazz, they could at least take solace in pushing a Western Conference contender for the second straight night -- a small sign of progress in a season that has had little so far. Utah lost its first eight games this season before beating New Orleans this week. "The guys are still showing fight in them and were executing at times, but we have to put together longer stretches of it, especially on the road," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "This is a good team on their floor and they shoot the ball very well." NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game for the victims of the typhoon that hit the Philippines as the Warriors hosted "Filipino Heritage Night." ... 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"Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Cheap Jerseys From China . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario.If I ever needed a brain transplant, Id choose a sportswriter because Id want a brain that had never been used.- Norm Van Brocklin When I was 13, I transferred to a new school for the first time. I had spent ten years from junior kindergarten through Grade 8 at the northwest corner of Bathurst Street and Viewmount Avenue in midtown Toronto. It was my home court advantage. I knew the roll of the rims and the carom of the walls and which teachers were lax at taking attendance. It couldnt last forever. At some point a promotion was coming, and my record setting minor league career wouldnt matter once new maths and makeup-laden girls challenged all that I had honed. I was heading to St. Andrews Junior High. Grade 9. The Show. Embarking on my first day in the wilds of the public school system, I knew I had to make my mark early. Mr. Pelech, my clever English teacher, noticed my t-shirt just minutes into the first class. It was a tattered, ink-drenched Grateful Dead concert tee. He remarked that "Grateful Dead" was an example of a contradiction. Contra what now? Coach tapped my shoulder and I hopped the boards. I proceeded to argue with a shellshocked Mr. Pelech for several minutes. My arguments were lithe, varied and completely illogical, but I had been trained to stand my ground no matter how ridiculous my position. Eventually, a hapless Mr. Pelech scanned the class and sputtered, "Just who is this guy?" Each one of my classmates shook their heads sheepishly as if to say uh, dont look at me. Mark made. Within two weeks I owned that school. They didnt realize the repressed explosiveness that ten years of private school Yiddish lessons would unleash. It is in this brazen spirit I introduce myself to you now, Dear Reader, as your new weekly columnist for Bardown. Why was I chosen as The One to guide you through the international sports landscape, particularly with so many scribes vying for your sports-saturated eyeballs? Commence the elucidation (AKA bring da noize): Basketball. This is my wheelhouse. I know all the lyrics to Kurtis Blows Basketball and I have for decades. I own a Sweet Georgia Brown-humming Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine from 1979. I still play pickup every week at a local high school against stiff competition in their very extremely late twenties. Also, I was an associate producer for the Toronto Towers of the NBA for nearly 500 games, post-games, pre-games and exactly five playoff games. Ooh, another thing, I call the Toronto Raptors the Toronto Towers because I have some self-respect. Baseball. I spent five teenage summers selling peanuts outside the Dome under the alias Mike Simmons. Despite a promising career as a sidearm Eephus pitch-throwing specialist, the leagues advanced scouts were never able to unravel the mysteries of my potential, because apparently throwing over the plate was a "prerequisite for success". Racists. I submit that using the All Star Game to decide home field advantage in the World Series is akin to the winner of the submission portion of Americas Funniest Home Videos determining the nominees for The Oscars Best Picture award. Also, you can thank me for getting the old Blue Jays logo back, as days after writing this piiece, the marketing director for the Jays was following me on Twitter, and months later a new logo was born.dddddddddddd Also, my therapist says I have something called a narcissistic personality disorder. Football. In 1998, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue the dream of being rich and famous which is why you know me so well today. That same year I became a fan of an upstart outfit known as the Baltimore Ravens because I thought Ray Lewis was almost definitely innocent of murder and I am obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Fifteen glorious seasons later I have two championship rings (made of foil and buttons) as my testament. I have correctly predicted, in pre-season, the Super Bowl participants for 13 consecutive years and I defy you to prove otherwise. (Note: Please dont reference my Twitter feed. Just be cool. This claim is all I have.) Hockey. I worked camera on the 2003 documentary A Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs so I know a thing or two about hockey. Well, exactly two things. One, when I was eight years old, my teenage neighbour convinced me his Mats Naslund rookie card could be mine for the extremely low price of my 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gurtski rookie card. (Note: I have forgotten how to spell that particular Edmonton Oilers name. At least my night terrors have subsided.) Two, I have developed an algorithm demonstrating the NHL to be the worst run league in the history of Industry. It involves a complicated geometric measurement involving my eyes and common sense. (A fact I will gladly prove over and over again until they, oh I dont know, realign the conferences to have an equal amount of teams. Lets start there.) Fantasy Sports. I Am Legend. In its heyday of 2001, my sprawling website, mikegallay.com, was a sports fantasy powerhouse boasting 16 writers covering all sports, catering to an audience of nearly 16 unique daily readers (and fans of ravines who misspelled mygulley.com). Chances are, if you were a Canadian sports fan in the early 2000s, you were reading articles about topics we also covered on mikegallay.com. The Professor And Mary Ann. I will happily cover all the secondary sports every time a participant either murders someone, is attacked by a spouse using the tools of their own sport, has sex on camera on TMZ, or breaks an important racial, cultural or gender barrier while also keeping our interest for more than eight minutes. Thats my pledge. Am I the precisely correct author to bring you whimsical, satirical, deadly accurate analysis of the sports that matter to you? Absolutely. And can I say that with total sincerity because part of my contract stipulates I have no editor? Two for two. Have I earned your attention to read my column next week? Lets put it this way. My topic will be 23 Ways to Make Over 7K a Week Working Part Time From Your Couch. My third column will be Bardown Seeks New Columnist, No Experience Required. Gallays Poll #1 What would you like to see Gallay write about in his next column? a) A 20,000-word essay conclusively proving Mike is the third Williams sister. b) Doug Gilmours Secret Recipes for 3am Snacks. c) My Weekend In The Hamptons With Barry Bonds. d) No column, just use this space to expand Badminton coverage. ' ' '