Utah Jazz: Russell Westbrook, OKC Stop Win Streak at Six

Thanks to another triple-double effort from Russell Westbrook, the Utah Jazz lost a heart-breaker to the Oklahoma City Thunder to end their streak.

For the most part, Monday was a great day to be a Utah Jazz fan. Following an announcement that the organization’s ownership had been transferred to a legacy trust, the team’s future in Utah and with the Miller Family was secured for years to come.

Unfortunately, the day ended on a sour note as Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Jazz in a contest that went down to the final shot. Despite trailing by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, Westbrook and OKC caught the Jazz sleeping in the clutch and secured a 97-95 win at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The Thunder came out firing from the opening tip, and led for much of the first quarter thanks in large part Westbrook, with help from Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo. Nevertheless, the Jazz utilized a 9-2 run to bring the score within two heading into the second period.

After the teams battled back and forth, Westbrook and Co. would go on a 12-1 run late in second quarter to push the Thunder advantage to as many as nine. However, a crazy burst in the final 30 seconds of the half kept things from getting out of hand for Utah.

The series began with a two-handed jam by Derrick Favors, after which Westbrook attempted to posterize Rudy Gobert. Instead, the Stifle Tower forced a miss, leading to a fast-break score by Gordon Hayward. On the ensuing possession, Westbrook turned it over and Adams fouled George Hill, who hit two free throws to make it a 56-53 game heading into the break.

Westbrook was huge during the game’s first 24 minutes, scoring 22 points. Oladipo was also lights-out, hitting 6-of-7 for 13 points. Nevertheless, the best was yet to come for the Thunder.

The first four minutes of the third quarter were rough for the Jazz. Their first points didn’t come until an Alec Burks free throw at the 8:17 mark, but the rest of the quarter was golden. Oklahoma City scored just 11 points while Westbrook struggled to two points on 0-of-7 shooting in the period.

Meanwhile, a 13-0 mid-quarter run sparked by Dante Exum and Trey Lyles gave the Jazz a lead they would take into the final carom. It was a big stretch for Exum, who has struggled recently with inconsistent minutes and confidence issues. The 21-year-old was in attack mode during the run, hitting the Thunder with two killer drives, including this gem —

Unfortunately, the Jazz would fall asleep at the wheel in the ensuing quarter.

After extending their lead to nine, the Jazz watched as Westbrook came alive in the clutch. He finished with 12 points in the final period, locking in another triple-double in the process. As a team, OKC would outscore Utah 30-23 in the fourth.

Still, it was Westbrook’s heroics in the game’s final seconds that ultimately secured the Thunder win.

Following a Hayward triple with 10.5 seconds left to level the score at 95, Westbrook used a screen by Adams to free himself for a game-winning, two-point J. The Jazz got one last attempt at the buzzer, but a three-point attempt by Burks caught iron and the game was over.

Westbrook finished the game with 38 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. Oladipo added 18 for OKC.

The Jazz, meanwhile, got a balanced effort with all 10 players who received minutes scoring the basketball and none finishing with less than Joe Johnson’s five and Hayward leading the way with 17.

Despite missing the final shot, Burks had what could be his best game of the season, playing 24 minutes and scoring 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

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With the loss, the Jazz win streak ended at six. However, it wasn’t the only streak to go down; Gobert finished with nine boards in the game, ending a streak of 30 consecutive games of double-digit rebounding.

Nevertheless, the Jazz are here to stay and continue to groove along at 29-17. They’ll be back in action on a back-to-back with the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.