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 The Thunder say their recent string of victories feels different.
Not because they are exploding offensively, but because they are
locking down on defense.
That was the case Thursday when Oklahoma City defeated the Utah Jazz
113-91 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. The win was the sixth in a
row and the third time in that span that they held an opponent to
fewer than 100 points.
"I think over the last couple of weeks the guys have really worked
hard defensively, tried to get better and improve, maintain and
build a level of consistency," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
"And I thought we did a great job tonight from start to finish."
Kevin Durant scored 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field to
go with eight rebounds and nine assists. It was the 58th straight
game he has scored at least 20 points.
Russell Westbrook posted 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds
as he came up just short of his fourth straight triple-double. He
played only 27 minutes and sat out the fourth quarter.
 "I just play the game man. Read and react," Westbrook said. "It may
not be the right play, but I just play. Some guys can make the play
and some guys can't. But I know I can make certain plays and some
guy cannot, so I just go for it."
Oklahoma City center Steven Adams added 14 points and seven boards.
Dion Waiters came off the bench to score 17 points.
Utah was paced by Rodney Hood, who scored 11 points on 4 of 9
shooting. No other starter reached double digits in points. Trey
Burke scored 17 points as the Jazz dropped to 35-37.
"This was a tough game no matter what," Utah coach Quin Snyder said.
"This is a very, very good team. One of the best in the league. We
were a little depleted. That early foul trouble really hurt us. It's
tough to beat this team when you're fresh and playing well. We
needed to make some shots and we weren't able to do that."
The Thunder have won six in a row and pushed their record to 50-22.
It's the fifth time they have reached the 50-point mark since the
franchise moved to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season.
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Whether it was because it was the second night of a back-to-back or
just that point in a long season, the Jazz came out of the gates
flat. The Thunder used it to their advantage and attacked the
visiting team with energy on both ends and took an early
double-digit lead.
The Jazz climbed back into the contest and trailed 29-28 when Rudy
Gobert picked up his third foul with 10:07 left in the second
quarter. Utah's presence in the middle had to sit out the rest of
the half.
"Rudy is a big part, especially against a team that has the
physicality and size that they have," Snyder said. "It's tough for
us to overcome. We'll look at it and see if there is a way for us to
be more disciplined and for him to be more disciplined."
Without Gobert, Oklahoma City racked up 24 points in the paint en
route to a 50-39 first-half advantage.
The Thunder came out of halftime on fire. A 12-0 run to start the
third -- much of it built on defense and fast-break points -- put
the Jazz out of sync.
The Jazz tried to fight back, but could only get to within 12. Led
by Durant, the Thunder put the game away at the end of the third
quarter.
"I think we just do a good job of staying with it," Westbrook said.
"Continue to make tough shots and defend on a night and night out
basis."
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