(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder, Game 3, NBA playoff basketball in Salt Lake City, Saturday April 21, 2018. Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) defended by Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12).
Jazz guard Ricky Rubio’s shooting, passing and rebounding created all kinds of aftereffects late Saturday night.
Rubio’s triple-double achievement (26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) evoked the name of John Stockton, the last Jazz player to do so in a playoff game, 17 years ago.
The work of Rubio and his teammates created a big enough lead that David Stockton made his first playoff appearance at the end of the Jazz’s 115-102 victory, with his father as a witness.
Fielding a question about Rubio led Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook to declare the end of such offensive success, adding even more spice to an already fascinating series.
“I’m gonna shut that s--- off next game, though. Guarantee that,” Westbrook said in the formal postgame news conference.
Westbrook’s words concluded the session. The fun is just starting in this best-of-seven series. Monday night’s Game 4 at Vivint Smart Home Arena will determine whether the Thunder pull even or the Jazz take a commanding 3-1 lead.
Rubio and the Jazz undoubtedly will get Westbrook’s best shot Monday, but here’s the thing: Rubio’s job is not about trying to match him stat for stat, as much as continuing to drive the Jazz’s collective effort that’s rising above the Thunder’s individual talent.
Rudy Gobert’s presence at the rim is deterring Westbrook, who’s being forced to take a lot of midrange shots. He’s missing them; Rubio is making them lately.
Stockton’s 2001 triple-double came in a Game 3 loss at Dallas, as the Jazz missed a close-out opportunity in a best-of-five series they eventually lost. Rubio’s numbers were more meaningful, coming in a win over a team led by Westbrook, the All-NBA point guard and king of triple-doubles.
“Having my name next to [Stockton’s] name is an honor; I don’t know what else to say,” Rubio said. “I know how important a point guard is to this franchise.”
Nobody suggested coming into the series that Rubio could compete evenly with Westbrook, much less outplay him in Games 2 and 3. The Jazz point guard has totaled 48 points, 19 assists and 18 rebounds with 44 percent shooting in those two games to Westbrook’s 33 points, 22 assists and 20 rebounds with 33 percent shooting.
“That’s kind of the normal Ricky,” David Stockton said. “We’ve been seeing that for the last month, big shot after big shot.”
Stockton is new here, except for the part about having grown up watching his father play in this building. The Rubio he’s watching is not the same player who struggled in December and January, when the Jazz hardly resembled a team capable of winning a playoff series. Just look at them now.
Yet if the Thunder win Monday, they’ll be even in the series, having restored their home-court advantage. That’s how this stuff works. The Jazz’s task is to win consecutive home playoff games for the first time in coach Quin Snyder’s era, following through after a night when the playoff atmosphere brought back memories of the Stockton/Malone years.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder, Game 3, NBA playoff basketball in Salt Lake City, Saturday April 21, 2018. Utah Jazz guard David Stockton (5) passes the ball.
“It might have been even better,” David Stockton said. “That was loud, man. The fans really brought it.”
So did the Jazz players, riding the support and rallying from 12 points down early in the second quarter. Joe Ingles labeled the environment “completely different than last year,” when the Jazz went 1-4 at home in the playoffs vs. the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State.
Fans really do love this Jazz team, and they were rewarded Saturday. But more challenges await, from Westbrook and OKC.
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