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Oklahoma City Thunder absolutely annihilated the Utah Jazz in a one-sided affair. Young gun Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 19 points and veteran point guard Chris Paul added 18 points and 7 assists for Billy Donovan's men. Utah Jazz, on the other hand, struggled to score on the night and shooting guard Donovan Mitchell finished with a team-high 13 points.
Oklahoma City Thunder strangled the Utah Jazz offence
The Oklahoma City Thunder played some impeccable defense against the Utah Jazz. The perimeter defence stood out, as the Utah Jazz struggled to make field goals. Scoring guards Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson finished with 13 and 11 points respectively.
Utah Jazz's misery was evident in the fact that Mitchell was their top scorer. The Utah Jazz looked short on ideas in the half court as the Oklahoma City Thunder did well on their individual defensive assignments. Apart from scoring woes, lack of creativity also led to the downfall of this star studded Utah Jazz side. Needless to say, head coach Quin Snyder will be looking to make major adjustments for their next game.
The 3 guard lineup does it again for OKC Thunder
Head coach Billy Donovan has relied on a 3 guard lineup of starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chris Paul coupled with bench option Dennis Schroeder. This trio has come in clutch for the Oklahoma City Thunder in majority of their clashes this NBA season. Tonight was another instance, as all three finished with double digit points and Gilgeous-Alexander also ended the game with 6 assists.
Power forward Danilo Gallinari had a useful contribution in the win by scoring 15 points. Dependable centre Steven Adams also played a huge role in the victory by scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Oklahoma City Thunder play their next game against a strong Denver Nuggets team which will pose a bigger threat as compared to the Utah Jazz. Nikola Jokic looked in fine nick in their first game and OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan will be relying on Steven Adams to stop him from wreaking havoc.
The Utah Jazz on the other hand play their next game against the number 1 seed in the western conference, the LA Lakers. The LA Lakers defeated the LA Clippers in their first game since the restart. The Utah Jazz will have to play their best game to compete with the LA Lakers who boast of a line up filled with superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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Guess the Lakers players!
