By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Utah Jazz 102-95 in Game Two as the Jazz even the series 1-1. The Thunder had their chances in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder’s Big 3 couldn’t get anything going. The Thunder were simply outplayed for the majority of the game, but a third quarter 19-0 run gave OKC a 10 point lead. That’s when Donovan Mitchell took over and won this game for Utah. The Thunder didn’t have it tonight. They struggled to do the little things like rebound, run a fluid offense and make free throws. The Thunder were flat out beat in every facet. Here are tonight’s Five Observations.
1. OK3 Come Up Small in the Clutch
The Thunder entered the 4th quarter up five. After going on a 19-0 run the in the 3rd, OKC held a 10 point lead, but Donovan Mitchell cut the Thunder lead in half going into the final frame. OKC was in prime shape to finish off the game and go to Salt Lake City up 2-0. All the trio of Russ, PG and Melo had to do was get them there. That isn’t what happened. Those three scored a combined two points on 0-14 shooting. That’s not going to beat the Sacramento Kings, much less one of the best defensive teams in the league in a playoff game. The Thunder scored just 16 points in the 4th while the Jazz scored 28 in route to a 102-95 win.
2. Donovan Mitchell Shines
While the OKC studs laid a dud, Mitchell stepped up to the plate. After being held to eight first half points, Mitchell exploded for 20 second half points and was a monster in the clutch. He scored 13 points in the fourth on 4-9 shooting. Now, Mitchell stunk from 3, but he didn’t get discouraged. Mitchell didn’t shoot well overall, going 10-25 from the floor and 0-7 from 3. But Mitchell stayed aggressive and drove the ball to the paint and either scored at the rim or he was fouled. Mitchell went 8-9 from the line and was 5-6 in the 4th. He took over this game and willed the Jazz to a win. He is already a sensational player, but he is going to be a problem in the NBA for years to come.
3. Thunder Lost Rebounding Edge
The Thunder lost the rebounding edge 56-46 and the battle on the offensive glass 15-10. The Jazz scored 20 second chance points compared to the Thunders nine. The Jazz had a huge contribution from Derrick Favors, who scored 20 points, went 2-3 from 3, grabbed 16 rebounds and had eight rebounds coming from the offensive glass. He was a monster. Then Rudy Gobert had a nice night, scoring 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, five coming from the offensive end. Those two guys grabbed 31 of the Jazz’s 56 rebounds. They were terrors on the glass all night. Steven Adams fought foul trouble all night, which allowed the Jazz to feast on OKC’s small lineups.
4. Free Throw Discrepancy
The Thunder did a poor job of getting to the line tonight, just shooting 18 free throws. The Thunder also did a poor job of making shots from the charity stripe. OKC went 12-18 from the line while the Jazz were 23-33. Sure, Utah missed 10 free throws, but they also made more than the Thunder attempted. OKC was outscored by 11 points at the line. That is really, really tough to overcome. The Jazz were 12-16 in the 4th from the line while the Thunder were 3-4. Sure, maybe there were some questionable calls, but OKC didn’t do a good job of attacking aggressively on offense while the Jazz went right at OKC with no fear. That was the difference.
5. Rubio was the X-Factor
Ricky Rubio was massive for the Jazz. He scored 22 points on a not-so-great 6-16 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and had nine assists. Where Rubio killed OKC was from 3. He went 5-8 from 3 and hit some key shots down the stretch. He scored seven points and was 2-4 from 3 in the 4th. He was massive for Utah and Russell Westbrook continues to dare Rubio to shoot. That backfired today and he lit up OKC.
The Thunder lose home court advantage but look to take it back in Utah. The Thunder get their next shot on Saturday. Tip is set for 9 p.m. inside Vivint Smart Home Arena.
