Highlights: OKC at UTA
By Paris Lawson | Broadcast and Digital Reporter | okcthunder.com
BOX SCORE: OKC AT UTA
THE BIG PICTURE
The Thunder hung tough in its final back-to-back of the season. Taking on the leagues number one offense in the Utah Jazz, OKC used its 3-point shooting to keep pace in the first half. While Utah ran away behind its own shot-making in the third quarter, the Thunder finished the night with several career performances including 18 points from Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and five made 3-pointers from Jaylen Hoard.
MOMENTS FROM THE 48
Game Flow
Utah jumped out to an early lead of 15 points in the first half. Fueled by its trips to the free throw line and a perfect 6-for-6 performance from Rudy Gobert, the Jazz took control with a double-digit buffer. The thunder’s offense hummed at a respectable 44 percent from the field and 45 percent from the 3-point line through the first two frames but needed a strong burst of offense in order to put any pressure on the Jazz.
Lindy Waters III provided that burst. The two-way rookie checked into the game and sank three consecutive 3-pointers to put together his own personal 9-0 run and force Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder to burn a timeout with its lead shaved down to just two points.
While the Thunder managed to hang around through the first half with its 3-point shooting, the Jazz broke the game open in the third quarter to take commanding control. Utah shot at a 60 percent clip from the field while sinking 11 3-pointers in the third frame alone to recapture its double-digit lead and keep the Thunder out of reach the rest of the game.
“The guys really competed and got us in a decent position in the game. He shot making at the end of the third quarter hurt us continued into the fourth,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. “That's what they can do. Really good shooting team, but I thought up until that point, there were a lot of good things. And we’ve just got to continue to dig in compete, possession by possession in these last two games.”
Big Man 3’s
It was clear from the outset that the Thunder’s game plan against the looming paint-protecting presence of Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside was to force them to guard the 3-point line.
In the first quarter, all five of the Thunder’s made 3-pointers came from its forwards: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Isaiah Roby and Jaylen Hoard. By halftime, the bigs were responsible for seven of OKC’s made 3-pointers.
For the game, Jaylen Hoard sank a career-high five 3-pointers after making just two in his previous four games with the Thunder and going 0-14 in his first two seasons in the NBA. Hoard finished with 23 points.
“He shot it with confidence tonight,” said Daigneault. “I thought he did a good job of not only shooting the ones that he shot, but also keeping it moving on ones he didn't shoot.”
“I had seen OKC play the Jazz earlier this season and I was watching pretty much every game and the way they attack the bigs was to pop a lot, shoot and space the floor, so I feel like I had to do the same thing today,” said Hoard.
By the end of the night, the same trio of forwards were responsible for 11 of the Thunder’s 16 made triples.
Jeremiah’s Career Night
After not playing the night before against the Trail Blazers, Thunder rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl logged 16 minutes of action against the Jazz and put up a career offensive performance. Robinson-Earl went 6-of-10 from the field including a 2-for-3 performance from behind the arc to post a career-high and efficient 18-point game.
“Just staying confident going out there and just being confident with my play and just leaning on my teammates,” said Robinson-Earl. “I don't get those opportunities without my teammates. So I think we have a great we have a great group. It's obviously a different group than earlier this year, but I think we the coaches and everybody does a great job just coming together and building that chemistry.”
Thunder Welcomes Melvin Frazier Jr.
Before the game on Wednesday, the Thunder announced that OKC Blue guard Melvin Frazier Jr. was signed to a two-way contract. Frazier split the 2021-22 season between the Lakeland Magic and the OKC Blue.
In his debut with the Thunder, Frazier logged eight points, five rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
“I liked him defensively. I thought he did some nice things,” said Daigneault. “We've always been pretty impressed with him on that end of the floor because it got a physical profile. He's got sneaky good feet. And I thought he did some good things on that end.”
Assists By Simpson
Thunder 10-day signee Zavier Simpson zipped across the baseline and whipped a pass out to the corner where Jeremiah Robinson-Earl stood wide open. Robinson-Earl drained the 3-pointer and Simpson logged his 10th assist out of 11 total for the night.
The double-digit dimes made Simpson just one of 10 rookies this season who have logged a game with 10 or more assists. The Thunder and the Orlando Magic are the only teams in the league with two rookies to record 10-assist nights this season.
“Really good quarterback. Great floor game,” said Daigneault. “You could tell he's run teams before and for a long time. He's very comfortable in that spot and does a great job of getting his teammates involved in that he did that again tonight.”
“I think he's a great point guard,” said Robinson-Earl. “In the one [OKC] Blue game I played, we had a lot of fun with the pick and pop and pick and roll so we kind of have that little chemistry for the time that we played in the Blue.”
THE LAST WORD
Jaylen Hoard on the lessons from the Utah…
“No matter if you win or lose, you can always get better from it. Don’t just lose the game and not not learn anything. Try to take away as much as you can and apply for the next game. We got two games left. So try to continue to apply what you learn each and every game.”
WHAT'S NEXT
The Thunder will end its 2021-22 season in Los Angeles where the team will play the Lakers on Friday and the Clippers on Sunday.