The Utah Jazz took control of their first-round NBA Playoffs series with a 115-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. The Jazz covered the spread as 5-point favorites, and the game went over the total of 209.
With the victory, Utah leads the best-of-seven series two games to one. Game 4 is Monday night at 10:30 ET again in Salt Lake City. BetDSI Sportsbook will have the odds for that matchup as soon as they are released.
A triple-double and two double-doubles
Point guard Ricky Rubio led the Jazz with a triple-double: 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Utah also had two players with double-doubles: Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell, with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and center Rudy Gobert, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds. All five starters scored in double figures for the Jazz, which shot a healthy 52.5 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent from 3-point range.
Oklahoma City also shot the ball well, especially from long range. The Thunder was 14 for 28 for an even 50 percent from 3-point land. Paul George led OKC with 23 points, and three players scored 14: Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook (who also had 11 assists but shot just 5 of 17 from the floor) and Ray Felton.
But the Thunder was undone on the glass. Utah grabbed 48 rebounds, including 13 offensive boards, while Oklahoma City had just 33 rebounds, six on the offensive end.
A big second quarter is the difference
Oklahoma City led 30-22 after the first quarter and actually extended the lead to 45-33 with 7:26 left before halftime. But that’s when Utah embarked on a massive 25-6 run that changed the game and gave the Jazz a 58-53 halftime lead.
The Thunder started the second half hot, taking a 63-60 lead on a 3-pointer from Anthony, but again Utah had the answer. It scored the next nine points to regain control and led 89-75 by the end of the third quarter.
The big picture
The winner of this series will face the winner of the series between the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Houston leads two games to one.
