Lauri Markkanen scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 124-117 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
The Jazz’s John Collins contributed 22 points and nine rebounds, while Keyonte George scored 16 points and five assists. Utah outscored the Thunder 19-9 on second-chance points and led 60-36 in the paint.
“Our defense in protecting the paint is ultimately what gave us a chance to win,” Jazz coach Will Hardy stated.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced Oklahoma City with 28 points and seven assists. The Thunder’s Jalen Williams finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Chet Holmgren scored 22 points and eight rebounds. Oklahoma City scored 21 points off of 17 Utah turnovers.
The Thunder made 19 three-pointers but only scored eight points in the paint after the break.
“They outrebounded us, they won the paint battle, losing those two things in the margins we lost them in, it’s going to be hard to win a basketball game,” she added. “There’s things to fix before shot making.”
Williams scored three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, the last of which gave Oklahoma City a 113-112 lead with 3:54 remaining. George responded with a pair of 3-pointers and fed Markkanen for another score, putting the Jazz ahead 119-113 heading into the final minute.
“Those are the moments to play for. “You want to be there at the end of the game and make a difference on either defense or offense,” Markkanen said.
Utah won its second game in a row at home after rallying from a double-digit deficit in the second half.
“I think we’ve been playing our game,” Markkanen remarked. “Move the ball. Moving without a ball. Getting a good look. Obviously, the percentages increase when you have solid shots.”
Gilgeous-Alexander and Ousmane Dieng combined for baskets on Oklahoma City’s final six first-quarter possessions, giving the Thunder a 33-28 advantage. Oklahoma City kept rolling in the second quarter, eventually increasing its advantage to 41-31 on a turnaround jumper by Aaron Wiggins.
Utah overcame the deficit and briefly led 50-49 after a basket by Collin Sexton. Cason Wallace and Luguentz Dort hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Thunder back ahead before halftime.
Holmgren scored 13 points in the third quarter, helping Oklahoma City increase its advantage to 89-77. He scored three points and assisted on another, capping a 16-6 run that put the Thunder ahead by double digits.
Markkanen equaled Holmgren’s third-quarter explosion by scoring 17 points. His contributions helped the Jazz have enough offensive momentum to mount another rally. Utah embarked on a 16-0 run in the third and fourth quarters, taking a 98-92 lead.
“I give Utah credit, they showed great resolve,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought the glass and paint were significant issues. I think the physicality (Utah) shown in the paint was really unusual of us on both ends and really gave us a small margin.
