This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder handed the Utah Jazz a preseason loss and, their coach said, a reality check.
"The thing about our team is we've got some good players and we've got an opportunity to be a good team," Jazz head coach Snyder said after Tuesday night's 113-102 defeat at EnergySolutions Arena. "But it's not like anybody on our team has done anything. We've played well at times. Our individual players have played well at times. But you're looking at Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and guys that have a [higher] level. We haven't touched that."
Jazz guard Rodney Hood scored 23 points. Trey Burke added 20 and four assists. And Gordon Hayward scored 18 points.
But it wasn't enough to keep pace with Durant, who scored 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and Westbrook, who put together a triple double.
More importantly, Snyder said, it won't be enough until the Jazz learn some of the lessons that a veteran Oklahoma City team has to offer.
"For us, it's look at what that is and what those guys are doing," Snyder said. "How hard they're practicing. You see them before the game? How hard they went? Those are hungry guys that are All-Stars. If we want to get to that place — individually, collectively — that's what we have to do."
With the bad blood not quite dry months after Enes Kanter first returned to Utah, pleased to see its mountains again though maybe not its basketball team, many expected another chorus of boos for the former Jazzman on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.
But Snyder had zeroed in on another Oklahoma City player's return.
"For me, it's the return of Durant," he said.
Back at full strength after injuries robbed him of most of last season, all eyes are on Durant. A year removed from winning the MVP, he had to watch from the sideline as the Thunder missed out on the playoffs. This time around, Durant is expected to lead OKC back.
If Tuesday against the Jazz is any indication, he's ready.
Durant scored 15 points in the opening half, hitting on 6-of-9 attempts, as the Thunder opened up a 57-43 lead at the break.
"You try to learn from every game, regardless if it's a win or a loss," Hayward said. "And we definitely could learn from that first quarter. They came out and came at us."
The Jazz trailed by as much as 21 points on the night, but mounted a rally against Oklahoma City's reserves. When Hood sank a triple midway through the fourth quarter, the Jazz trailed by only three.
That's when new Thunder coach Billy Donovan looked to his All-Stars to return to the court to close out the game. Durant went to work, scoring 10 straight points for his team to hand the Jazz their fourth straight preseason loss.
A defeat in the exhibition season won't cause any panic in the Jazz locker room, but it did cause Snyder and Hayward to offer a candid assessments.
"I think we realize we haven't really accomplished anything," Hayward told reporters in the locker room after the game. "Guys like you were are really hyping us up and hyped us up all offsesaon and we didn't really deserve any of that. For us, we've got to continue to stay focused and learn from games like this."
The Jazz closed out last season by winning 19 of their last 29 games thanks to a swarming defense, but "that doesn't mean we're a good team yet. We were a good team for about two months," Snyder said. "… I'm not dampening any enthusiasm. But I am being realistic about who our group is, and that's what our group needs. We need to be realistic about the level that's out there and if we want to reach it, it's a hard road."
Twitter: @tribjazz —
Thunder 113, Jazz 102
FG FT Reb
OK C Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Durant 28:49 11-15 3-3 0-8 1 4 29
Ibaka 32:46 7-14 2-2 0-5 1 4 16
Adams 34:50 6-8 2-3 5-10 3 3 14
Westbrook 34:44 8-14 3-7 2-10 10 2 21
Roberson 17:36 0-4 0-0 0-1 1 3 0
Waiters 18:56 6-9 1-4 0-1 0 1 14
Collison 14:41 0-0 0-0 0-2 2 3 0
Morrow 28:16 2-5 0-0 0-1 0 1 6
Payne 15:18 3-7 0-0 0-3 2 4 7
Singler 3:32 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 3
Novak 8:22 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 3
Huestis 1:05 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Zanna 1:05 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Totals 240:00 45-79 11-19 8-42 21 25 113
Percentages: FG .570, FT .579. 3-Point Goals: 12-24, .500 (Durant 4-5, Westbrook 2-4, Morrow 2-5, Singler 1-1, Novak 1-2, Payne 1-3, Waiters 1-3, Roberson 0-1). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 21 (24 PTS). Blocked Shots: 10 (Ibaka 5, Adams 2, Durant 2, Westbrook). Turnovers: 21 (Adams 3, Durant 3, Waiters 3, Westbrook 3, Ibaka 2, Morrow 2, Roberson 2, Collison, Payne, Singler). Steals: 6 (Durant 2, Morrow 2, Singler, Waiters). Technical Fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
Utah Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Hayward 32:33 7-14 2-2 1-3 0 2 18
Favors 26:23 4-11 1-1 2-4 0 0 9
Gobert 31:52 2-3 1-4 1-4 3 3 5
Burke 29:12 7-15 6-6 0-3 4 1 20
Burks 31:48 3-7 8-9 0-2 0 3 14
Booker 14:35 2-5 1-2 1-6 0 1 5
Hood 27:49 9-16 3-4 0-0 1 2 23
Neto 17:02 1-3 1-2 0-1 2 1 4
Withey 8:08 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Ingles 18:26 2-5 0-0 0-2 1 4 4
Millsap 1:07 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Johnson 1:05 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 240:00 37-79 23-30 5-27 11 17 102
Percentages: FG .468, FT .767. 3-Point Goals: 5-17, .294 (Hayward 2-5, Hood 2-6, Neto 1-1, Burke 0-2, Ingles 0-3). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 13 (13 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (Favors 2, Gobert 2, Withey 2, Booker). Turnovers: 11 (Burks 4, Gobert 2, Booker, Favors, Hayward, Hood, Ingles). Steals: 14 (Burke 3, Ingles 3, Hayward 2, Hood 2, Burks, Favors, Gobert, Neto). Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 11:48 first.
Oklahoma City 35 22 22 34 — 113
Utah 18 25 25 34 — 102
Attendance • 17,806
Time • 2:11.
Officials • Ken Mauer, Tre Maddox, Gary Zielinski.