![]() “You want to try to get the ball out of the hands of the guys that are designed to make plays,” Dinwiddie said. Markkanen, who leads the Jazz by averaging 25.7 points per game, started just 2 for 8 from the field and was held scoreless until the 7:21 mark of the second quarter. “You can’t control that, just was hoping they wouldn’t get an opportunity. “I didn’t want (Horton-Tucker) or (Markkanen) taking that last shot,” Bridges said. The Jazz used a 26-8 run to cut Brooklyn’s lead to one and had a chance to win after Seth Curry missed two free throws, but Kelly Olynyk’s jumper at the buzzer went long. Horton-Tucker scored 15 in the fourth and Utah outscored Brooklyn 42-26 in the quarter. It was kind of spread throughout the team, which was a good thing.” ![]() “Mikal had a good stretch where he was able to convert for us, but (Claxton) was getting to the rim for us, (Dinwiddie) was getting downhill. If they fail to win that they can still qualify for the playoffs as long as Dallas loses one of their next two games either against the Bulls or Spurs.“We were really moving the basketball,” Vaughn said. The Thunder now control their own destiny and all they need is a win over Memphis on Sunday night. ![]() The Thunder would go on a 14-0 run that stretched into the fourth and that would be the end of the playoff hopes for Utah. Utah would keep it close during most of the third quarter, and late in the quarter when they had cut the deficit down to on e. He dropped 16, 14 and 8 assists on Utah’s must win night, but it wasn’t enough to overcome all over the scoring sitting in on the bench in street clothes. Kelly Olynyk did most of the heavy lifting for the Jazz on a night that they were without a handful of their stars. SGA had 22, 7, and 7 assists while Giddy and 17, 8 and 8 assists in the win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have a great game scoring, but he and Josh Giddey did a little bit of everything as both flirted with triple doubles. It was a tight first few minutes, with both teams sharing the lead in the opening quarter, but with the score at 20-19 OKC, t he Thunder went on a 7-0 run and they would not give the lead back to the Jazz. They took care off business against an under manned Jazz team from the very start. They knew coming into the night that they control their destiny, and if they win out they are in the Play-In. The Thunder had lost three straight games but were hanging on to the 10 seed in the West. There were whispers that the Jazz weren’t too interested in making the postseason after dealing away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in the offseason and then a handful of other key players at the trade deadline, and them sitting two of their best players supports those whispers. Tucker was diagnosed with left ankle soreness and Sexton sat as part of injury maintenance of his left hamstring on the last game of the season. The Jazz were a bit more desperate knowing that they would be eliminated with a loss, but that didn’t stop them from sitting Talen Horton-Tucker and Collin Sexton on a night where Lauri Markkanen and Rudy Gay who were already sidelined with lengthy injuries. Jazz shorthanded in must win matchupīoth teams came in neck-and-neck in the Western Confence, knowing that this was a must win game. ![]() Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 22 points in the 114-98 victory to keep the postseason dream alive in OKC. The Oklahoma City Thunder came out of Utah as the favorites to take the 10 seed in the West after beating the Jazz at Vivint Arena on Thursday night. ![]()
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