On the rare occasion both teams bring peak intensity to an NBA game played in January, it always makes for a good one.
Heading into Thursday’s game, the Utah Jazz were riding an NBA best six game win streak, and the Oklahoma City Thunder were reeling, coming off two straight demoralizing losses.
The roles reversed in this game, with OKC earning a huge win on the road over one of the hottest teams in the NBA, 134-129.
OKC came roaring out of the gates, shooting 58% from the field in the first quarter, while also turning Utah over six times. The dominant start helped the Thunder race out to a 39-27 lead after one, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pacing all scorers with ten points.
The Jazz fought back to start the second, closing the gap to as little as nine points in the early, SGA-less minutes of the quarter. But, unfortunately for Utah, Jalen Williams came to play. Williams upped his scoring total to eleven, combatting Utah’s attempts to slow down the OKC offense with a zone defense by draining open midrange jumpers and finding open teammates.
Joining Williams in having a strong quarter was Josh Giddey, who placed firmly placed himself on triple double watch by posting an impressive 12-6-6 in the first half.
Giddey and Williams led OKC’s second quarter efforts, and despite a valiant effort from Utah to storm back and take the lead, the Thunder took a 76-67 lead into the half.
Utah continued to battle back in the third behind three point marksmanship from everyone up and down the roster, raising the Jazz’ three point percentage to 46.2% with the explosive showing.
On the OKC side of things, three point shooting became an issue, with the typically dependable Thunder slumping below 40% from beyond the arc. The stark difference from deep gave Utah the edge in the quarter, but OKC escaped with a 98-95 lead.
Utah had all the momentum when the fourth started, and then fourth quarter J-Dub showed up.
Williams went to work on the offensive end, and showed his full arsenal in the process, scoring at every level during a stretch where it seemed like everything he touched turned to gold.
Pull-up threes, attempted posters, floaters, and contested midrange daggers from the former Santa Clara Bronco helped OKC stretch the lead back out to 11. Williams’ onslaught continued. He was hitting catch-and-shoot threes, ripping one armed passes to the corner, and putting OKC in a position to salt the game away late.
Despite J-Dub’s offensive explosion, Utah had OKC on the ropes late, but rookie Cason Wallace made a massive three to put the Thunder up seven with 51 seconds remaining.
A huge block from Chet Holmgren closed out a tough win for the Thunder.
Big shot after big shot allowed OKC to sneak out the win, and despite some tough moments on the glass late, the Thunder’s shot making was the difference in the end.
