Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant help Oklahoma City Thunder beat Utah Jazz 106-94
The Oklahoma City Thunder capitalised on a good second half performance to defeat the Utah Jazz 106–94 in front of a sold-out home crowd at the Oklahoma City Arena on Wednesday night. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant featured prominently in the win as
they combined to score 60 points for the Thunder.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks praised Durant after the game. He said, "Kevin (Durant) had not been shooting the ball well lately but he was very efficient tonight. I thought he really had a good rhythm going."
Westbrook and Durant shot a combined 62.1 percent to lead the Thunder over the Jazz. On the other hand, Oklahoma City shot 54.5 percent from the field as a team. Westbrook scored 34 points on the night while Durant chipped in with 29.
The Jazz were already missing guard Devin Harris because of a strained hamstring before Andrei Kirilenko bruised a nerve in his knee and sat out the last two quarters. The Jazz were unable to cope without these two players as they tumbled to their third
straight loss.
Russell Westbrook and Durant combined to pour in 24 points to give the Thunder a 32–25 lead at the end of the first period. Utah made 5 three-pointers during the opening period to keep the game close.
The second quarter was a close affair as Al Jefferson’s jump-shot with less than four minutes left in the first half tied the game at 42–42. However, the Thunder responded with jump-shots by Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, followed by two free-throws from Westbrook
and a layup by Kendrick Perkins to retake the lead. Oklahoma City took a five-point advantage going into the half time break.
Serge Ibaka was a force on the defensive end as he blocked four shots and kept the Jazz at bay. Ibaka scored 15 points and brought down 13 rebounds in another good performance.
Al Jefferson had a brilliant game with 32 points and 12 rebounds as he shot an impressive 14-of-18 from the field. Oklahoma centre Kendrick Perkins was disappointed with his defensive play against the Jazz big-man, but savoured the opportunity of playing
with his young team.
"We've got a group of young guys, and I know they all want to do well. Everybody wants to do well," Perkins said.
He added, " When you throw all the hidden agendas out of the way, you throw all the stats out of the way and if you just go out there and play to win the game, I think everybody gets a piece of the pie at the end of the day."
In the third quarter, the scores were close throughout, as both teams traded baskets. Durant’s jumper with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter, sparked an 11-4 run to cap the quarter and give the Oklahoma City Thunder a 78–69 lead going into
the fourth.
Nazr Mohammed added six points in the first three and a half minutes of the final quarter to lift the Thunder to an 88-77 lead. The Thunder then followed it up an 8–0 run accentuated by Durant’s back-to-back three-pointers to take a decisive 18-point advantage
in the game.
Paul Millsap had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Utah Jazz.
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