By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma City Thunder holds on to win Game One 116-108 over the Utah Jazz in Oklahoma City on Sunday night. The Thunder got off a bit of a slow start, trailing 16-4 to start the game. Billy Donovan took a timeout and the Thunder settled down on the defensive end and that helped the Thunder offense get into a rhythm. The Thunder got up big in the fourth quarter, leading 109-91 with 3:20 left to go in the game. That was when the Thunder pulled back a little and the Jazz surged back, cutting the lead to as few as six. But the Thunder were able to hold on and win the game. Outside of the first few minutes of the first quarter and the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, the Thunder played really well, especially on defense. This was a really good performance to start the series. Here are tonight’s five observations from a Thunder game one win.
1. Playoff P
Saturday, when Paul George spoke with the media, he joked that we hadn’t met “Playoff P yet,” and boy, we sure had not. Paul was unbelievable shooting the three ball. Like, he was insane shooting the three. PG scored 36 points while shooting a red hot 13-20 from the floor and an out of this world 8-11 from three. Paul was feeling it early and often and that carried all game long. He was sensational all game long. As good as he was shooting, I feel like some of it was fools gold. He made some really tough, contested shots. Some of which I cringed when he took the shot. I don’t think PG will hit eight three’s in a game again in the playoffs, much less in this series. Hopefully PG doesn’t settle too much for some of the three’s he took tonight.
2. Injuries to Watch
OKC got back Corey Brewer and Alex Abrines for Game One, which came as no surprise. But, now there are a few more injuries to watch. Late in the fourth quarter, PG was taken out of the game and was getting his lower back/hip stretched out and did not return. Billy D called it “muscle tightness” with PG. Adams had a really nice lob dunk via Russell Westbrook with 4:23 left in the game. Adams went down the floor shaking his right arm like something happened when he slammed home the monster dunk. Billy had no update and didn’t really seem to know anything about it, saying if it was serious that the medical team wouldn’t have left him out there. Then for Utah, apparently Donovan Mitchell left the game sometime in the second half to get x-rayed for his pinky toe, which came back negative. He returned to the game, but was shortly taken back out after some light limping. He said he just stubbed his toe and that it was nothing major. “Was just being a baby,” he said. So these injuries will be something to watch before Wednesday’s game. Luckily for these guys there are two days off before Game Two.
3. Alex Abrines Was Fantastic
Alex was cleared from the concussion protocol before today’s game. So, trying to figure out how he’d play was a bit of a mystery. But Alex played great on both sides of the floor. His defense was actually pretty good. He did a good job of closing out on shooters and not letting guys get by him. Then on offense he was hitting his shots. He got open looks and he was hitting, scoring 11 points while connecting on 3-5 from behind the arc. When Alex is able to contribute on defense and then hit his shots, he elevates this team to another level.
4. Thunder Team Defense Was Good
Outside of the Thunder’s first few minutes and last few minutes, the defense was really, really good. Now, Donovan Mitchell did a nice job of scoring the basketball. Mitchell scored 27 points to lead the Jazz and he shot well too. Brewer took the job on Mitchell in this game, so we’ll see if PG slides over if he is good to go. Mitchell shot 11-22 from the floor and was 3-7 from three. But, Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio ended up taking 18 shots, only making five and was 0-3 from three. OKC really did a good job in the second and some of the third quarter of forcing Rubio to take mid-range shots. Rubio isn’t a shooter. He is a distributor and OKC found a way to force him into taking shots he doesn’t typically take. Melo was also really solid on defense, grabbing seven rebounds, had three steals and had two nice blocks. Overall, the Thunder defense was locked in for the majority of the game.
5. Billy D Not Satisfied
Billy Donovan wasn’t singing the Thunder’s praise after this one. He said that OKC had moments, especially in the second half, where OKC played well. But he did see a 18 point lead dissolve into just six in a matter of moments. Even the start wasn’t great, trailing 16-4 to begin the game. The Thunder did enough, but Billy is right. OKC has to be better in game two. He said it several times, and he is right. I think PG’s shooting masked some of the little issues OKC had in the first half. We’ll see what OKC brings in Game Two.
The series has two days in between Game One and Game Two, which will be Wednesday night in OKC. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
