Undefeated for nine home matches, the Jazz finally fell in front of their home crowd, beaten 134-129 by the Thunder. The day after the canceled match against the Warriors, Lauri Markkanen's teammates chased the score throughout the match, and they never recovered from OKC's lightning start.
Like this action where Jalen Williams covers Markkanen, Josh Giddey recovers the ball, and sends Chet Holmgren to dunk. The action lasted barely two seconds, and the Jazz were overwhelmed. Williams is the big man in this successful start, and we find him cutting through the defense in the middle and going to the end, then stealing a ball for a dunk (29-15).
And then, Jazz will eat up its delay, with a good passage from the energetic Ochai Agbaji, and Collin Sexton. With 12 minutes late, Utah found its legs, and we found this spectacular and collective game which allows for open shots. It takes a 3-pointer from Chet Holmgren at the last second for the Thunder to go into the break with a nine-point lead (76-67).
Jalen Williams untenable
Returning from the locker room, Utah confirms that things are better, and Markkanen flies away in the alley-oop, then goes to the tap (79-76). Opposite, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes us forget his hiccup in the last quarter against the Clippers. He's dominating Kris Dunn, and that's no small feat right now. The Giddey-Williams duo is also at its best, and the Thunder manages to maintain a gap (91-84). And then there is this pretty crazy action: a counter from Walker Kessler on Chet Holmgren, followed by an attempt at a post by Markkanen on the same Holmgren. The ball goes bad, but Simone Fontecchio arrives as a trailer for the tap dunk. There is only one point left (94-93)!
As crazy as it may seem, Jazz will never get ahead! For what ? Because the Thunder will start the 4th quarter with a 7 out of 7 shooting to take an 11-point lead (113-102). Through the Markkanen-Sexton duo, the Jazz will give a new push, and Sexton will bring his team to -4 (130-126) with one minute remaining. But Williams will put an end to the Jazz's hopes with his 4th 3-pointer of the evening. At the finish, OKC won 134-129, and put an end to the Jazz's great series, six victories in a row in 2024.
What you must remember
– End of series. The Jazz had two series going. The first, at home, with nine victories in a row. The second with six successes in a row in 2024, and the victims were called the Nuggets, the Sixers or even the Lakers and the Bucks.
– Fast play. The Thunder lives up to its name with young people who spend their time running around and being active in defense. Result, 19 points scored on lost balls from Jazz, and above all 29 points scored on the counter-attack.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
