The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game trying to get another win but most importantly they wanted to stop Utah’s win streak. OKC has been playing great basketball as of late and were able to keep things rolling tonight against the Jazz. One thing that everyone has found out about the OKC Thunder is that they’re going to fight and scrap in every game. Tonight Russell Westbrook led the charge as he was trying to keep his teammates engaged in the game on both ends. Early in the game the Utah Jazz were able to match Westbrook’s energy as they were able to grab the lead and watch it grow to 17 points. The Thunder had no answer for rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell as he had 31 points on the evening and was able to get anything he wanted in the first three quarters. Mitchell doesn’t play like a rookie at all and showed a lot of poise against everything the Thunder threw at him defensively. OKC basically let Mitchell get his shots off and made sure that the rest of the team didn’t beat them in the second half. The Utah Jazz tried to slow down the game and get the Thunder off their game but it didn’t work in that second half. Overall the Jazz just didn’t have enough fire power down the stretch to put OKC away espeically when leading by 12 points going into the 4th.
Russell Westbrook was looking/playing like the MVP of the league as he finished the game with 34 points, 14 assists, 13 rebounds tonight. Tonight was a night where Russ could do no wrong as he was able to get his game going and he was able to get his teammates involved. Westbrook and Steven Adams have been able to hook up with the Pick & Roll on a nightly basis now. Steven Adams has been balling out of control as he’s had 17 plus points in three straight games now. Adams has been able to take over the paint and he’s been unstoppable on this stretch of games right now. The Thunder have been looking for him and Adams has been able to continue to grow his game right before our very eyes. Adams had 20 points with 9 rebounds on the night as Gobert couldn’t contain the Big Kiwi at all. Paul George had a terrible 1st half but came out in the 2nd half on a mission. George finished the 1st half with 3 points and finished the game with 21 points on the night. George is a streaky shooter and he’s someone that can take over a game just like Russell Westbrook and that’s what OKC needed and got tonight. When you have players like Russell Westbrook and Paul George on your side nothing can go wrong unless they do it to themselves. Carmelo Anthony was able to get it going in the 4th quarter as he and Russ both realized the mismatch that the Jazz had on him. The Jazz had Joe Ingles on Melo and he couldn’t contain him at all in the paint. Melo finished with 14 points but most importantly the team got the win and overall they played great in that second half. The Thunder usually play great the first half and take the foot off the gas in the second half but not this time.
The Thunder will travel to Mexico City to face the Brooklyn Nets and they will look to go .500 on the season and continue this great 3 game winning streak out there.
Photo Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
