Oklahoma City • The way Rudy Gobert was shooting free throws, nothing about Oklahoma City’s sending him to the line seemed to help the Jazz in the first three quarters Wednesday night.
The fourth quarter was another story. Gobert started making his shots, and the foul trouble of Thunder center Steven Adams made an impact in the Jazz’s 102-95 victory in Game 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Thunder had played well in stretches without Adams through three quarters, when they led 79-74 and had outscored the Jazz by 13 points with reserve Jerami Grant on the court. So the Thunder’s loss could not be blamed on Adams’ absence after he fouled out with 2:48 remaining and the Jazz leading by two points.
Yet it’s true that Adams had provided a big chunk of Oklahoma’s offense in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder’s stars struggled. Gobert then dominated the boards at the end of the game, preventing the Thunder from getting any second chances after missed shots.
Adams is “a big, big part of our team,” Thunder guard Russell Westbrook said. “Obviously, his presence was missed late in the game.”
Adams finished with nine points and seven rebounds, playing 22 minutes. Six of his points came in the fourth quarter — the rest of the Thunder shot 3 of 24 in the period.
For the game, Oklahoma City was outscored by 10 points with Adams on the court.
“I don’t think Steven was ever able to get into a flow or a rhythm for himself, because he was batting foul trouble,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
Grant played the whole fourth period, and finished with 13 points and six boards. Donovan turned to Corey Brewer in a small lineup after Adams fouled out with Carmelo Anthony playing power forward.
Grant scored Oklahoma City’s final points with a drive that cut the Jazz’s lead to 99-95. Carmelo Anthony missed two 3-point shots in the last minute. Earlier, also with the Jazz leading by four, Grant missed a 3-point try from the corner. Westbrook, Anthony and Paul George went 0 for 14 in the fourth quarter.
“I think our main guys got pretty good looks, and I thought we moved the ball to the open man,” Donovan said. “I thought we even had times where we rolled to the basket and we had a presence at the basket. We had a hard time finishing there, as well. We just didn’t score enough points.”
The Thunder’s 16-point fourth quarter came after they scored 19 points in barely more than five minutes of the third quarter, surging to a 77-67 lead. But the Jazz “kind of came charging back,” Donovan said.
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