Jazz-Thunder Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Nov 30 2012 2:39PM

Led by the NBA's highest-scoring duo, the Oklahoma City Thunder look just fine despite trading the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.

They'll try for their seventh win in eight games Friday night as they host the Utah Jazz, who look to continue their improvement on the road.

The Thunder (12-4) cruised to their third straight victory Wednesday, defeating former teammate James Harden and Houston 120-98. Harden was held to 17 points on 3-of-16 shooting while Kevin Durant scored a season-high 37 points for the second time in three games. Kevin Martin, who came over from the Rockets in the Harden trade, also scored 17.

"We've moved on past it, man," Durant said. "We're happy to see (Harden), glad he's doing well out there in Houston but we wanted this win bad.

"For all those days in practice where him, Daequan (Cook) and Eric Maynor beat the first group, I wanted this win real bad."

Durant's 26.6 points per game and Westbrook's 20.7 make them the league's highest-scoring teammates again, but Westbrook's other numbers may be more significant. The point guard is averaging a career-high 8.6 assists - a jump of more than three from last season - with a career-low 3.1 turnovers.

He tallied nine assists against Houston, his 11th game this season with eight or more. Westbrook reached that total in 12 of his 66 games in 2011-12.

"He's just slowing down and taking his time," Durant told the team's official website. "As you start to grow in this league, the game starts to slow down for you a little bit, you start to see things earlier than you would in your first or second year.

"He's sacrificing shots for himself to mix it around for the whole team. That's what great point guards do and he's having a hell of a season."

Westbrook's increased playmaking is a big reason Oklahoma City's 22.9 assists per game rank near the top of the NBA, compared to last season's league-worst rate of 18.5.

"I think passing the ball is something we can really point to that has been good for us and we need to keep building on that," big man Nick Collison said.

They'll look to do that against a Utah team that has won five of six, including two of its last three road games after starting 1-6 as the visitor. Gordon Hayward sparked the Jazz (9-7) late in Wednesday's 96-84 win at New Orleans.

The Hornets started the fourth quarter with a 13-4 run to trim Utah's lead to seven, but Hayward scored 13 of his 15 points after that to preserve the victory. He had totaled 12 points on 2-of-16 shooting over his previous two games.

"It just kind of came to me," said Hayward, who is averaging a career-best 13.3 points. "I was able to step up and knock some big shots down. I haven't hit those in the past three games so it's good for me to finally knock down some shots."

Hayward missed six shots and did not score in the Jazz's lone visit to Oklahoma City last season, a 111-85 loss Feb. 14. Utah won 97-90 at home March 20 to snap a five-game skid in the series.

The Jazz are expecting Mo Williams to return Friday after missing three straight games with a right foot injury. Marvin Williams, though, won't play after he suffered a concussion in the third quarter in New Orleans when he fell to the court. The forward has started 14 of Utah's first 16 games, and is averaging 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds this season.

"I heard it from all the way down on the bench," Hayward said. "It looked pretty painful."

Thunder hold off Jazz 106-94, sweep homestand

By JEFF LATZKE
Posted Dec 01 2012 1:41AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) After two straight cakewalks to start their homestand, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally got some fourth-quarter resistance against the Utah Jazz.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still found a way to close out a perfect stretch at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Durant scored 25 points, Westbrook made a two-pronged bid for his sixth career triple-double and the Thunder beat the Jazz 106-94 on Friday night.

Oklahoma City won all three games by double digits and made a bid to win three in a row by at least 20 points for the first time in 25 years before a late charge by the Jazz.

"Definitely a good homestand leading to the road," Westbrook said. "We're playing good basketball right now. Everybody's moving the ball, feeling good and hopefully we can continue it."

Westbrook ended up with 23 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. Kevin Martin scored 19 points for the Thunder.

Enes Kanter scored a career-high 18 points, with 14 coming in the fourth quarter as Utah pulled within five before Oklahoma City closed it out.

Westbrook came up with two of his steals - and one of his eight turnovers - during a wild, momentum-changing stretch midway through the fourth quarter.

After his two free throws stretched Oklahoma City's lead to 90-83, Westbrook swiped the ball, only for Earl Watson to steal it back, and then for Westbrook to race back up the court to get it again.

He fired a pass ahead to Kendrick Perkins, who flipped it to Durant for a two-handed slam that got the sellout crowd roaring again and the Thunder back on the path to victory.

"He makes big plays. It's not always just making a pass or scoring," Durant said. "He makes big plays that change the game, and that was a huge play for us."

Westbrook was one shy of his career high in steals and two off his best rebounding total. Serge Ibaka added 12 points and seven blocks for Oklahoma City, and Perkins also scored 12.

Al Jefferson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who were without starting forward Marvin Williams due to concussion symptoms. The Jazz had a three-game winning streak snapped and lost for the second time in seven games.

"I don't feel bad at all about this loss," Jefferson said. "I think we did a great job against all odds."

The Thunder have won six in a row at home and make a brief, two-game road swing before coming right back for five in a row in Oklahoma City.

"Every day is important for us to get better," Durant said. "I think we're having a good stretch right now."

The league's highest-scoring team, Oklahoma City locked down on defense to move ahead for good in the second quarter. The Thunder limited Utah to 30 percent shooting in the period while making 63 percent of their shots and led 54-42 at halftime.

The lead got as big as 81-63 when Martin followed Nick Collison's three-point play with a jumper from the right wing with 1:47 left in the third quarter.

This one wasn't destined for a blowout like the first two games of the homestand, though. Oklahoma City had handed Charlotte its worst loss in franchise history in a 114-69 rout on Monday night, taking a 40-point halftime lead with one of the most dominant first halves in NBA history.

The Thunder then kept Houston's James Harden from hitting a shot in the first half Wednesday night while building a double-digit lead they'd never relinquish.

The Jazz became Oklahoma City's first opponent on the homestand to be within single digits in the second half, roaring back with a 20-7 run after coach Tyrone Corbin went to Watson to run the show late in the third quarter.

Watson lobbed to Gordon Hayward for an alley-oop dunk to finish the period, and the Jazz scored 11 of the first 13 points of the fourth quarter.

Kanter's three-point play got Utah as close as 88-83 with 7:41 remaining.

Watson had eight assists in just 13 minutes and Kanter, the No. 3 pick in last year's draft, had one of the best scoring stretches of his young career.

"We tried something different and our guys responded well," Corbin said. "These guys have been great all year by just playing the minutes they get on the floor and just going out there and competing."

The absence of Williams was complicated when Derrick Favors strained his right arch in the first half and did not return. Point guard Mo Williams did return after missing the previous three games with a right foot injury, and had 13 points and six assists.

Kanter went 6 for 7 from the field, made both of his free throws and had four rebounds in the fourth quarter.

"It feels good but we lost the game," Kanter said. "That's why I'm not happy about my scores or my rebounds. In the end, all that matters is whether you win the game or not."

Notes: The Thunder hadn't won three straight games by at least 20 points since November 1997, according to STATS. In that stretch as the Seattle SuperSonics, they won by exactly 20 points against Milwaukee, Vancouver and San Antonio. The SuperSonics also won by at least 20 in four straight games in February 1994 and March 1995, according to STATS. Those are the only three times the franchise has won at least three games by at least 20 points. ... Corbin said Marvin Williams still had a headache Friday but was able to travel with the team to Oklahoma City after his hard fall Wednesday in New Orleans.

Notebook: Thunder 106, Jazz 94

Randy Renner, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:47 PM - Updated Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:49 PM

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder let an 18-point lead slip all the way down to five in the fourth quarter but held off the Utah Jazz 106-94 behind 25 points from Kevin Durant and 23 from Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook played at break-neck speed, stealing the ball seven times but also turning it over eight. A couple of times he stole the ball right back after turning it over. He also hauled down 13 rebounds and handed out eight assists so he didn't miss a quintuple-double by much.

The Jazz had six players in double figures led by Enes Kantor who came off the bench blazing, scoring 18 points in just 15 minutes on 8-for-11 shooting. Al Jefferson had another double-double (the 243rd of his career) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Milsap, Mo Williams and Gordon Hayward all had 13 points for Utah.

The Thunder had five players get into double digits. In addition to Durant and Westbrook, Kevin Martin had 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and both Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins added 12. Ibaka blocked seven shots and pulled down seven rebounds. Perkins played outstanding inside defense on Jefferson forcing him to take jumpers while also pulling down six rebounds, blocking three shots and dishing five assists.

The Thunder dominated points in the paint (52-38) and won the battle of the boards (47-40).

QUOTABLE: "Perk and Russell set the tone throughout the game with their enthusiasm and effort. Utah has no quit and we kinda let up a little bit when we had the big lead and we just can't do that." --Thunder head coach Scott Brooks

QUOTABLE II: "They swept the paint. Perk did a good job of pushing me out of the paint and then when I did get the ball, there was a guy in my lap. They just had a good defensive plan." --Jefferson

THE STAT: The Thunder blocked 14 shots (a season-high) and turned 19 Utah turnovers into 25 points while holding the Jazz to 41.3 percent shooting.

TURNING POINT: One of the wildest sequences you'll ever see turned the game in the fourth quarter. With the Thunder clinging to a seven-point lead with 7:16 to play, Westbrook stole the ball from Jefferson and raced down court . But he passed into heavy traffic down low, and Jazz point guard Earl Watson grabbed the ball and took off in the other direction. Westbrook ran after Watson and stole the ball back then passed to a wide open Perkins who tossed the ball to Durant for a slam. The Thunder got the lead back to double digits and didn't let it get closer.

QUOTABLE III: "I thought our guys showed a lot of character and continued to fight and try to get back in the game but Westbrook had a couple of key steals against us and that kept us from getting back in the game." --Jazz head coach Ty Corbin

HOT: The Thunder started the game 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) and finished the first half at 55.0 percent (22-for-40). ... Kanter was 6-for-7 (14 points in the fourth quarter.

NOT: The Jazz shot 40.0 percent (8-for-20) in the first quarter...that percentage was down to 34.9 percent (15-for-43) by halftime. ... Jefferson started 1-for-5 (two points). ... Westbrook (1-for-4) and Martin (1-for-4) combined to go 2-for-8 in the fourth quarter.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Durant's mom Wanda Pratt made her first appearance inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. She sat courtside with other members of KD's family.

GOOD MOVE: Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, double-teamed down low late in the second quarter, sends a behind-the-back, underhanded pass to Thabo Sefolosha who drains a 15-foot jumper.

BAD MOVE: Jazz coach Ty Corbin opted to give DeMarre Carroll his first start of the season when Marvin Williams couldn't go because of concussion symptoms but Carroll was ineffective guarding Durant who was 3-for-3 early in the game. Hayward, who was the other option to start in place of Williams, came in later and helped lead a Jazz run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth by hitting three straight shots.

NOTABLE: Jazz forward Derrick Favors left the game in the first half with a strained right arch and did not return. ... OKC has now won four straight and 12 of the last 14.

UP NEXT: For the Jazz, Saturday @ Houston, Monday vs. LA Clippers, Wednesday vs. Orlando. For the Thunder, Saturday @ New Orleans, Tuesday @ Brooklyn, Friday vs. LA Lakers.

• Jazz: Bell, Murphy
• Thunder: Lamb, Liggins, Orton

• Jazz: Corbin
• Thunder: Westbrook

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #47 Bennie Adams, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 18203
• Duration: 2:03