The Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder went toe to toe all night, and the Thunder pulled out a close one in an OT 129-125.
The Jazz played extremely well in this one, considering they were matched up against the reigning NBA champions at home. Yes, the Thunder were without Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, but they did have their core three players in this one.
Top Performers
SGA was in MVP form tonight with 46 points on 14/26 shooting. He also grabbed 6 boards and dished out 6 assists. For Utah, Keyonte George
scored 25 and dished out 11 assists with 7 rebounds. Lauri Markkanen also scored 29 points with 13 rebounds. It’s impressive to see the Jazz’s dynamic duo play so well against such good perimeter defense. That the Jazz can do this with these two against this level of defense shows just how good the Jazz can be next year, especially if they win the lottery, get some development from Ace Bailey, and make some solid free agency signings.
What happened
The Utah Jazz were excellent in this one and had a late lead to nearly win the game. This shot by Walter Clayton Jr. was huge, putting the Jazz up 4 late in the game. There are nights where Clayton hits some massive shots and tonight was one of them.
After that shot, with three seconds left, Shai Gilgeous Alexander hit a massive shot to send this one to overtime.
In overtime, the Thunder were too much for the Jazz and eventually pulled away.
Yes, it’s a dissapointing loss for Utah, but they have a lot to be proud of in this one. They are building towards something really special next year. With even more talent added through the draft and with free agency space to use, they can build a team that can really compete night after night. This season is turning out to be very successful for so many reasons, and nights like tonight are a window into what the Jazz can do.
