Rock bottom: Only way is up after losing to weak Warriors News Golden State Warriors

For a team already in disarray, things only got worse Saturday. The Jazz fell 118-108 to an injury-riddled Golden State team which had just seven healthy players available, marking Utah's third straight loss and sixth in seven outings. After they enjoyed a 15-game home win streak that lasted more than two months, the 47-33 Jazz now have dropped consecutive games at EnergySolutions Arena ? just the third time this season they've done that.

"Well, I'm disappointed in the way we've been playing," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "It's kind of like 'everybody for himself.' Everybody trying to get shots, everybody's trying to do their own thing rather than try to play the game where you have a chance to win." Asked for the cause behind such selfish play, Sloan deemed it "pretty obvious." "They'd rather score than play defense," he said. The loss also ended a six-game losing streak in Utah for the Warriors, who've won just three of their last 28 vs. the Jazz in Salt Lake City. "It's tough," said power forward Carlos Boozer, whose 25-point, 12-rebound night was wasted. "Obviously we want to win every game we play in, so it's the worst thing to lose the game ? especially when you're going into the playoffs." "This is bad. It's a bad loss," added point guard Deron Williams, who had a team-high 26 points and game-high 14 rebounds for his 11th double-double in the Jazz's last 12 games. "The last couple weeks, I just don't know what's going on right now. We're just limping into the playoffs. It's like we're content on just being there and being an eighth seed." Utah, which trailed by as many as 18 points early in the fourth quarter, remains eighth in the NBA's Western Conference with just two games to go in its regular season. The Jazz play Monday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers, and Tuesday on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers. Adding injury to insult Saturday, Williams exited in the final minute with a mildly strained left oblique (abdominal) muscle that at this point the team says will have him out "day-to-day." All of which left veteran forward Matt Harpring searching for a glint of hope in what appears to be a rather ominous cloud hovering over a club that more and more appears headed for what could be a quick-exit first-round postseason series with the West-leading Lakers. "That's as close to rock bottom as you can get, especially at home," Harpring said. "So, maybe if we hit rock bottom, you can't go lower, now we can go higher," he added. "We'll see what happens the next two games." This one started with Golden State going up by as many as 15 in the opening half and ended only after a late Jazz rally bid brought them to within five with just more than three minutes left. Anthony Morrow answered Mehmet Okur's runner with a tip-in, though, and was fouled with 2:37 remaining. He hit the ensuing free throw to put the Warriors up 106-98, and Utah never got to within closer than seven the rest of the way. "They had us under control all night long," said Sloan, adding Morrow's three-point play "broke our back." "Right from the beginning of the ballgame we got into a situation where we were trying to take all outside shots," he added. "They're a team that takes a lot of outside shots ? but we tried to match them, and we didn't make them, and we kind of got in a little panic situation. Then we couldn't guard them, which has been the downfall of our team here of late." Second-year guard C.J. Watson had a career-high 38 points and rookie Rob Kurz added a season-high 21 for a 30-51 Warriors team that shot 54.8 percent from the field despite being without injured regulars Jamal Crawford, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette. Each Warrior who did play ? four of whom took part in last summer's Rocky Mountain Revue ? logged at least 29 minutes. "Coach said this was a dangerous game," Williams said. "Usually when people are out, other guys step up and make the most of the opportunity. That's what they did." And for the Jazz, that translated to opportunity squandered. E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com