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Oklahoma City • In the moments following Utah's 109-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jazz players spoke of their resiliency. They trailed by as many as 13 points and weathered a historic 3-point shooting barrage and led by four points with 39 seconds remaining.
But ultimately, the Jazz couldn't survive Russell Westbrook.
If it weren't for Oklahoma City's superstar point guard, the Jazz may have escaped Tuesday night with their third consecutive road win. Instead, Westbrook stole a victory from the clutches of defeat in front of a sellout crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
"He played great," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "I think all of our guys feel good about the way we competed. But Russell made the plays down the stretch. He does that, and we had some good looks. I felt like our guys, we executed very well. We just didn't make some of the shots and they did. That's kind of what it came down to."
The final minute proved frenetic. With the Jazz (37-23) leading 106-102, Westbrook hit a 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining. On Utah's ensuing possession, Jazz forward Gordon Hayward missed an open 3-pointer from the corner. Had Hayward made the shot, the Jazz likely would've escaped with a win.
"It's a make-or-miss league," Hayward said. "It felt good. I knew how important the shot was, I just left it a little short."
Westbrook grabbed his 11th rebound, raced up the floor, scored and drew a foul from George Hill. The Thunder took a 108-106 lead on Westbrook's resulting free throw.
Utah had a chance to tie, but Joe Johnson drove baseline and turned the ball over. After Oklahoma City missed two free throws, Hayward's desperation 3 fell short, allowing the Thunder to seal the win.
Westbrook — and his teammates' perimeter shooting — proved the difference. An MVP candidate, Westbrook scored a game-high 43 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out 10 assists for his 30th triple-double of the season. His next triple-double will tie the late Wilt Chamberlin for the most triple-doubles in a season since 1968. He has five 40-point triple-doubles this season; by comparison, Michael Jordan had three 40-point triple-doubles in his career.
"It's just about being calm in situations like this, and we've definitely been in close games before," Westbrook said. "It's not always going to be a blowout. The Jazz fought, and they are a great team. I thought we did a great job of keeping our composure going down the stretch."
The Thunder made their first 12 3-pointers, the first team to accomplish such a feat since the Seattle Supersonics in 1998, and dominated for three quarters. Their lead hovered in the 10-to-13-point range all game. The Jazz were having issues slicing the deficit to single digits through three quarters, but the Thunder couldn't put Utah away, either.
That opened the door for Utah to rally. Down 96-87 with seven minutes remaining, the Jazz used a 12-0 run to take a 99-96 advantage. Rodney Hood supplied Utah with its first lead at 97-96 on a baseline jumper. For a few minutes, victory seemed possible.
"We knew a comeback was possible," Johnson said. "They shot the ball lights out in the first half. They started to miss and we got some rebounds. We came back and we hit some shots when we needed them. They just made some plays at the end."
Tuesday was Hood's best game since returning from injury, as the shooting guard scored 18 points and looks to have regained some of his explosion going to the basket. Hayward led the Jazz with 19 points, but was only 7 of 17 from the field. Rudy Gobert scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Twitter: @tribjazz —
Storylines
R Oklahoma City outscores Utah 22-6 in fast-break points.
• The game features only two lead changes.
• The Jazz see their three-game winning streak snapped, but remain in fourth in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the L.A. Clippers.