Buddy Hield leads the Warriors to a stunning victory over the Jazz

When the Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on opening night, winning 139-104 (the score was later increased to 140-104), it took a moment for everything to get going. The intriguing big starting five was a bit unconventional from the start and the team needed time to find a rhythm.

The same thing happened in Golden State's second game, an away contest against the Utah Jazz on Friday night. The offense looked sluggish and the defense a step slow in the opening minutes as the Warriors quickly fell behind 10-2 in a period where there seemed to be more whistles than points. Utah played fast, aggressive and active, and the Warriors…well, the Warriors weren't. With the team not even looking competitive on the glass, Steve Kerr called a timeout trailing 15-6.

And then the Dubs dominated.

They showcased their versatility with Andrew Wiggins – the starting shooting guard – moving up to small-ball power forward after the timeout in a lineup alongside Steph Curry, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield and Draymond Green. On the first possession after the timeout, Hield picked up where he left off Wednesday and made a three-pointer. And then the Warriors were off to the races.

A step-back three from Curry with just under four minutes left allowed the Warriors to finally catch up to the Jazz, and they soon took the lead for the first time. Hield was electric with eight points, Kevon Looney helped curb the game's aggression with six points, and the Dubs ended the quarter with a 26-9 run to take a 32-24 lead.

The start of the second quarter was difficult for both teams as it took almost two minutes for both teams to score. The game slowed down and became a little sloppy and chaotic, although Golden State's lead never felt in question. And then it was Hield once again who led the way with a 16-point quarter. The spark he provided seemed to inspire the rest of the team, as suddenly the Warriors were playing with energy, style, verve and aggression. Thanks to 24 points from Hield in the first half, they led 56-42 at halftime.

The starting lineup may have struggled to start the game, but they had no trouble when given another chance in the third quarter. They stormed out of the locker room, went on a 13-3 run and forced a Utah timeout. That run would eventually grow to 18-4, giving Golden State a 74-47 lead and marking the game as uncontestable with a quarter and a half remaining.

From then on we had no choice but to pile up the points, let the time run out and continue to rest the players. On Wednesday, no Warriors played longer than 25 minutes. On Friday, Curry was the only player to surpass that mark with 27 minutes. They finished the third quarter with a 94-70 lead, and their backups continued to make their presence felt in the fourth quarter as they shut down Utah…even as the Jazz held on to some starters late in a losing game.

The final balance? A 127-86 victory and a thoroughly dominant start to the 2024-25 NBA season.

Hield continued his brilliant start with the Warriors, dropping 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including 7-for-9 from distance, and adding four rebounds and six assists without a turnover or a foul. He came off the bench to lead the Warriors in scoring in each of his two games with the Dubs and now has 49 points in just 35 minutes.

Not only did he lead the Warriors, but he also spearheaded a brilliant bench attack that saw Golden State's reserves outscore Utah's by a whopping margin of 80-49. That was necessary because the Dubs' starters struggled to score: Trayce Jackson-Davis shot a perfect 6-for-6, but Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga combined to shoot just 12-for-39. Wiggins more than made up for it, however, as he helped set the Warriors' aggressive tone with 13 rebounds and played a very strong defensive game.

The Warriors are now 2-0 after a 6-0 preseason. Yes, their two wins came against two of the Western Conference's weaker teams, but they also came on the road by a combined score of 267-190. It's hard to do much better.

But a bigger test awaits on Sunday when the Dubs host the LA Clippers at 5:30 p.m. PT. After these performances, I can't wait to watch them again.