Second Half Surge Leads Thunder Over Utah
The Oklahoma City Thunder went on a 19-2 run in the second half to take control and go on to beat Utah 114-98 in Salt Lake City on Thursday night.
The win eliminates the Jazz from playoff contention, and moves OKC one step away from clinching 10th place in the Western Conference and the last spot for the play-in tournament.
A win by the Thunder in their final regular season game against Memphis on Sunday, or a loss by Dallas in either of their final two games gives OKC the #10 seed.
The Mavericks host Chicago on Friday and San Antonio on Sunday.
The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
SGA led a balanced scoring effort for the Thunder, with seven players in double figures.
Josh Giddey had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Four OKC bench players had double figures, led by Aaron Wiggins' 15 points.
Dario Saric had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Isaiah Joe had 11 points and Lindy Waters 10.
Jaylin Williams had 11 points in a starting role.
The Jazz outshot the Thunder 49 percent to 40 percent from the field, but OKC made 15 three-pointers and Utah was just 5-for-31 from three-point range.
OKC forced 19 Utah turnovers.
The Thunder ended a four-game losing streak at Utah and improved to 39-42 on the season.
OKC closes the regular season Sunday at home vs. Memphis at 2:30 pm.