National Basketball Association
Utah 115, Oklahoma City 102
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 21, 2018
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials:
#15 Zach Zarba, #47 Bennie Adams, #30 John Goble, #77 Karl Lane
Attendance:
18306
By Field Level Media
Ricky Rubio recorded 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career postseason triple-double to lead the Utah Jazz to a 115-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
Donovan Mitchell contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Jazz took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series. Joe Ingles made five 3-pointers while scoring 21 points, Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 12 rebounds and Derrick Favors tallied 11 points.
Paul George led Oklahoma City with 23 points while Russell Westbrook made just 5-of-17 shots while producing 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton scored 14 points apiece.
Westbrook committed eight of the Thunder's 17 turnovers.
Game 4 is Monday at Salt Lake City.
Utah, which held a 48-33 rebounding edge, pulled away with a dynamic 13-0 fourth-quarter run that pushed its lead to 20 points.
"We're playing hard, we knew they were going to come aggressive out there," Rubio said in a postgame television interview on ESPN. "It feels good to win. We protected our home court. It's great to play in front of these fans and (again) for the next one."
The Thunder opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run to move within 91-84 with 9:47 left.
A short time later, Ingles scored eight straight points on two 3-pointers and two free throws to boost the Jazz lead to 101-86. Gobert added an inside hoop and Mitchell drained a 3-pointer to cap the 13-0 burst and make it 106-86 with 5:10 left.
Felton connected on a 3-pointer with 4:13 remaining to end the Thunder scoring drought of four minutes, 55 seconds. But there would be no last charge and coach Billy Donovan cleared the bench with 2:29 left.
Oklahoma City opened the third quarter with a 10-2 surge and held a 63-60 lead after Anthony's 3-pointer. Utah responded with the next nine points with Mitchell's basket capping the run and accounting for a six-point edge with 7:41 remaining.
The Jazz used a 7-0 push later in the quarter to take an 82-70 lead on Gobert's dunk with 2:41 left. Then Rubio capped the stanza in style with a running 3-pointer to beat the buzzer and give Utah a 89-75 lead.
Rubio scored 19 first-half points as the Jazz led 58-53 at the break.
The Thunder led 30-22 after the first quarter and boosted their advantage to 45-33 on Westbrook's layup with 7:26 left in the half. Utah answered with a 22-4 burst to take a six-point lead with 1:53 left in the half.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Oklahoma City |
|
Utah |
|
Paul George 23 |
Scoring |
Ricky Rubio 26 |
|
Russell Westbrook 9 |
Assists |
Ricky Rubio 10 |
|
Russell Westbrook 11 |
Rebounds |
Rudy Gobert 12 |
|
Paul George 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Rudy Gobert 6 |
|
Carmelo Anthony 3 |
Steals |
Jae Crowder 2 |
|
Steven Adams 1 |
Blocks |
Derrick Favors 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Oklahoma City
|
102 |
47.4 |
14-28 |
14-19 |
17 |
33 |
3 |
11 |
17 |
| Utah
|
115 |
52.5 |
13-34 |
18-27 |
24 |
48 |
5 |
12 |
19 |
Upcoming Games
-
Utah will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Jazz have a W/L % of .633 after a win and .515 after a loss.
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Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Thunder have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .529 after a loss.
For more information, contact us