Oklahoma City Thunder blow past Utah Jazz 101 – 87; Russell Westbrook stars – NBA Recap
The Oklahoma City Thunder put in a polished display at the EnergySolutions Arena to overcome the Utah Jazz. The game, which ended 101 – 87 to the Thunder, saw some early resistance by the Jazz but they couldn’t sustain it for the 48 minutes.
Russell Westbrook was the star of the show. He had a game high 28 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 steals. The point guard however deflected attention on to his team after the win and pointed at the group’s toughness as a reason behind their success.
"Toughness, especially on the road. We're a tough group of guys and when the road hits we know what time it is. You can't lose two or three or four games in a row if you want to be an elite team and we know that, and we're getting better each and every season and every game. If we lose, we take it personal. We come back the next game and come ready to play."
Kevin Durant had a good game with 19 points. Oklahoma City also received good contributions from Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka, with both recording double-doubles. Ibaka scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Perkins had 10 points and the same number of boards.
Centre Al Jefferson was the pick of the bunch for the Jazz as he top scored with 20 points and also had 8 rebounds. Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward both scored 13 points, Devin Harris had 11 and Paul Millsap finished with 10.
OKC were slightly quicker out of the blocks, going up 7 – 4 early. The first quarter though ultimately belonged to the Jazz, who were competitive throughout and finished just ahead at 30 – 27.
The second period though saw a break down in offence for Utah. After the Jazz made a fine start to the period, extending their advantage to 36 – 30 at one point, they began to falter and this allowed the Thunder a way back into the game. OKC used a 10 – 0 spurt to take the lead and finished the first half ahead at 49 – 44.
Utah came out with their spirits high after the interval. They made a decent 8 – 2 run to start off the 3rd quarter and took the lead back at 52 – 51. The Thunder however grew in strength as the segment progressed. OKC streaked 9 – 2 just after the halfway mark to gain a double digit advantage and were comfortable going into the final period at 74 – 65.
Utah made their intentions known with a 6 – 2 salvo to start the penultimate quarter. The Thunder though were equal to the task responded with a 7 – 0 burst to establish their dominance. The Jazz never got within touching distance afterwards and Oklahoma City were able to increase their lead, ending the game with a double digit margin 101 – 87.
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