Jonas Jerebko cemented his place at the Golden State Warriors by scoring a game-winning tip-in against his former team the Utah Jazz on Friday, said head coach Steve Kerr.
The 31-year-old forward, who signed a one-year contract with Golden State in the offseason, put back a missed shot from Kevin Durant with time expiring to lift his team to a 124-123 victory at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Kerr thinks Jerebko's game-winning play consolidated him as one of the Warriors.
"That's the moment where he's one of us," Kerr said. "Any time you're a new guy with a team, you're trying to make your mark. You do it in practice by going hard. You do it with your work ethic.
"But as soon as you hit a game winner, that pretty much solidifies [your place]."
The Warriors trailed by 16 with five minutes and 36 seconds to play in the third quarter, but came back for the victory after 38 points from Durant and 31 from Stephen Curry.
"It was incredible," Durant said about Jerebko's tip-in. "I'm happy for Jonas. I know that he wanted to come in here and kind of impose his will on the team ... I'm just happy for him that he was able to have that moment."
Jerebko, who averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 74 games for the Jazz last season, was pleased to get one over on his former side.
"I had a great time here," Jerebko said. "So to come back - I said I wanted a win, so it felt great."
The Jazz shot 41.3 percent from three-point range and scored 81 first-half points in the loss.
