Salt Lake City: Shutting down the Utah Jazz offence is proving easier said than done for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For a second straight game, a late second-quarter surge by Utah carried over into the second half and it allowed the Jazz to pull away for a 113-96 victory Monday night. The Jazz used a 20-3 run spanning the end of the second quarter and the start of the third to break open the game.
Utah take a 3-1 series lead back to Oklahoma City. Game 5 in the best-of-seven play-off is Wednesday night.
Donovan Mitchell had 33 points and seven rebounds to lead the Jazz to their third straight win in the series. Joe Ingles added 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers.
Mitchell’s willingness to attack the rim put the Thunder on their heels throughout the second half.
“He’s done a good job of getting in there and finishing or dropping it off,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s an important part of what we do. He’s our most dynamic offensive player.”
Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ricky Rubio chipped in 13 points, eight assists and six boards. Derrick Favors also scored 13.
Paul George had 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Thunder, who shot 39 per cent from the field.
“I thought we played downhill a lot more,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought we were at the rim a lot more. From there, we probably missed some opportunities to move the ball. I thought our ball movement was sporadic and sometimes it was very good.”
